Champion: the First Probender
by GenghisQuan
Summary: Delve into the buried and bloody history behind Republic City's hottest sport. Four years after the War's end, a tournament was starting in Ba Sing Se, celebrating the coming together of the Four Nations. But a new threat soon rears its head,and the Gaang plus a new generation of fighters must rise to face it. Some pairings between OCs and canon chars, but nothing canon breaking.
1. Prologue

_A/N: This is a story that grew out of an old roleplay some of my friends used to do. It got dropped before the plot ended, unfortunately, but now I have decided to take our plotline, make some edits to it, and smash it into a coherent story. Enjoy. _

Prologue:

"Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the four nations lived in constant war, but that all changed when the Avatar returned. Fire Lord Ozai and his forces tried to burn the world, but when he was at his strongest, the Avatar defeated him. Now, four years later, the Avatar and his allies have spent the time rebuilding the world, and although there's plenty of work remaining to do, this is a milestone that deserves to be commemorated.

And I believe this plan will be just the thing to do it."

Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe bowed to the group assembled before him, a small smile inching across his face as they clapped. They were good friends all, allies who had each contributed in some way to the victory over the Fire Nation's hundred-year war of conquest, leaders of the four nations, and now they were all listening and approving of his plan. Chief Arnook of the Northern Water Tribe. King Kuei of the Earth Kingdom. Fire Lord Zuko. Grand Lotus Iroh, of the White Lotus Society. His own father, Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe. And, of course, Avatar Aang.

"Any questions?" He asked.

"So, if I understand you correctly, you want to start a tournament between the top fighters of our nations," Arnook said. "I know the aim is to establish a spirit of sportsmanship that transcends borders, much as our friends of the White Lotus have done, but you still have people fighting each other. Won't this cause further divisions?"

"It's also a celebration of our martial traditions," Sokka replied. "The Avatar is as strong as he is precisely because he understands the cultural, spiritual, and martial applications of all four elements. Our illustrious Fire Lord and Grand Lotus here have also advanced the pool of firebending techniques by studying the Waterbenders, and I myself have benefited from the tutelage of Master Piandao of the Fire Nation. I think it would be great for everyone across the world to see just how much we stand to learn from each other if we were able to share our techniques in peace instead of hoarding them in war."

"It's a fine goal," Zuko said, his brows furrowing in thought. "There is still discontent among my people about how I 'pulled them from the brink of victory'. This will raise their spirits."

"It would certainly bring foster cultural exchange, " Kuei added, adjusting his glasses. "Especially after that affair with the colonies. I endorse this. Although I am concerned about the one you selected to administer this?"

"Xin Fu assured me it was nothing personal. And you have to admit, Toph's parents had to have been pretty worried about their blind daughter running around with us. He says he gave up the bounty soon as they called off the contract. And he did let two of the best earthbenders in his stable go to join us during Black Sun." Sokka frowned temporarily at the brief reminder of his failure to end the war that day. "Anyways, he actually gave me a lot of ideas for planning this, and he does have expertise in managing this kind of event."

"The White Lotus Society is always ready to foster international exchange," Iroh noted. "This is a good idea you have come across, young Lotus. And the rules you have proposed are sound."

"I'm behind you, son," Hokoda said. "I imagine your sister will want to take some of her kids to this too."

There was one voice left.

"Aang?"

The boy he and his sister rescued from that iceberg many years ago smiled.

"I think it's an excellent idea, Sokka."

Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe breathed a sigh of relief. _Screw you, Aunt Wu, _he thought._ A life filled with misery, most of it self-inflicted? If by that you mean "just took a massive step forward for world peace," then sure, whatever you say._

* * *

"Grand Lotus Iroh, welcome to my humble estate. Come in, I have a pot of Dragonwell brewing. To what do I owe the honor of this visit?"

"Master Piandao." Iroh made the common Fire Nation salute of left palm to right fist. "You have heard of the Harmony Games being proposed?"

"I have. I should hardly think a man of my age is to compete among those youngsters?"

"Spirits, no," Iroh chuckled as he and Piandao strolled through the swordmaster's gardens and took seats at a stone table. It was spring, and the fire lilies and star blossoms were just beginning to bloom. A light breeze rose, and the buds swayed, playing across the two men's fields of vision. "But what of your ward?"

"Kazuma? Are you sure about this?"

"Why not? We sent him to foster with you since his infancy. He's grown up cloistered from the outside, so seeing more of the world would do him good. And he's absorbed all of our teachings about peace and balance and harmony between the four nations."

"But…but what about _it_?"

"The Avatar has informed me that he has been smoothing things over with the other elemental spirits. Agni will play nicely for now."

"Very well. I suppose from that standpoint, then, he is more than ready."

* * *

"Boomerang, check. Meat, check. Space Sword, check. Meat, check. Bone club, check. Meat, check. Tarp-"

"Sokka, are you sure about this?"

"Very sure, dad. Look, on our travels, we've been noticing a trend of benders having power over nonbenders., and now that the war's over, people are starting to grumble about that. The Fire Nation's ruled by a firebender, for one. Arnook is the chief of the Northern Tribe, but not even he could do diddly-squat when Pakku refused to teach Katara waterbending. And the Earth King doesn't bend, but all his generals do, and back before we arrived in Ba Sing Se, it was Long Feng and the Dai Li who ruled everything. They need to see nonbenders holding their own."

"All right, fair enough. But who's going to be your partner? Suki?"

Sokka shook his head. "No, she's too busy. But I've got someone in mind."

Hakoda raised an eyebrow at the smirk on his son's face. He knew that smirk; had known it ever since he met Kya. "Is Suki going to be all right with that?"

"Oh, don't worry," Sokka replied. "We've talked about it already, and she knows who it is. We've been exchanging hawks pretty often these past few days. I just need to meet her in Ba Sing Se."

* * *

"Oh man, oh man, I am so psyched for this! Thanks Sifu Katara! You're the best!"

"Now calm down there, Brad. Pack your things several days in advance. The world outside the Water Tribes is a vastly different place, so make sure you don't forget anything," the waterbending master said, smiling at her young charge as he bounded about the training igloo in exuberance. It had been a long but rewarding four years. Ever since the war ended, she and a group of waterbenders from the Northern Water Tribe had been coming the Southern Tribe to awaken any latent waterbending talents the children may have. It was a slow process, but now she had a gaggle of students to take around, and Brad was the best and brightest among them.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" Brad hugged her and ran off to inform all the other students of this little field trip. Oh, Brad. No one knew what his parents were thinking when they named him that. Then again, given that both his parents had died on the last Southern Raiders assault, no one asked him about it. Still, the kid had heart, and he learned quickly.

Katara smiled inwardly. As soon as Sokka proposed the plan privately to her that one night, she immediately seized upon the faulty premise – that it assumed "four elements, four nations" when the Air Nomads aren't really a nation any more (with a "no offense" thrown at Aang), and that the Water Tribes may as well be two nations. He'd agreed, after some coaxing from Aang, and now she was getting the best chance she could to take her kids to learn what real combat waterbending felt like.

Absentmindedly, she swept her arms into a ball, then lashed out in one fluid motion. The snow beneath her feet rose and condensed into a single water whip that blasted against a metal training dummy, sending a massive *crack* reverberating throughout the igloo as a foot-wide gash appeared in its side. Katara smiled.

By Tui and La, she still got it.

* * *

"And now, announcing our champion, he who now has the honor of representing the Earth Kingdom in the world's first Harmony Games, Hung Hei-Kwan!"

The swarthy earthbender stood above the raised earthen platform that had seen him dethrone countless opponents to emerge as the top dog, the best of the best, the one with the stones to achieve victory. He posed as artists built their outlines for fight posters. He laughed as a fangirl came upstage to kiss him. He posed again as he made the customary challenge, "Should any object to my placement, let him speak now or forever hold his peace!"

He did not realize someone would say "yes."

Hung surveyed this newcomer, who had left the Fire National woman he had arrived with and now hopped on to the challenge platform. He was an unremarkable lad of barely twenty years, with an average build and a roundish face. The only remarkable thing about him were his eyes - instead of the normal green of most earthbenders, this one had one green eye and one gray. Hung shrugged. Heterochromia was not unheard of, though this was his first time seeing it in person.

"Hung Hei-Kwan, out of Master Yu's Earthbending Academy," Hung said, saluting his opponent, then taking a deep horse stance, legs bent ninety degrees, side facing the enemy, front hand extended in a tiger claw, back hand clenched in a fist chambered at his hip.

"Lin Hayate," the newcomer said, not bothering to salute, instead just standing there with his hands behind his back. Hung kiai'ed as he jumped and stomped at the ground, quickly sinking Lin into a hole up to his head. He retreated back into his first stance, seeing what Lin would do.

Seconds passed as Lin looked around uninterestedly. Then his fist burst up, sending a pillar that shot up and catapulted Hung from the platform.

"Any takers?" Lin asked, climbing out of the hole he'd enlarged when Hung tried to trap him in it.

This time there were truly none.

* * *

Fire Lord Zuko sighed as he pored over the sheaf of reports and documents littering his work desk at the Fire Nation Palace. Since ascending the throne, a million and more things assaulted him, incidents to be ameliorated, minor lords currying favor, arranged marriage requests for his prospective children several years down the line. It was making his head hurt enough that the occasional Agni Kai from discontent nobles were starting to be a welcome distraction to this paper-pushing. Yes, he had ministers for some of it, but not all of them were trustworthy. And his sister was still out there, somewhere, plotting and planning as was her wont.

Soft but firm hands massaged his muscles where neck met shoulder, followed by the smell of light perfume.

"Don't kill yourself, Zuko," the Fire Lady said. "I'd hate for that to happen."

"Mai," Zuko said back, smiling. "You've made up your mind?"

"Yeah," she said. "The Northern Water Tribe girl tapped me. She's a nice girl, and being on her team would go towards this 'multinational' theme your friends have going."

"I'm still a little worried," Zuko said, frowning. "You're a high-profile Fire Nation royalty, and there are still people out there fighting the war after it ended."

"I'll take a platoon of your Royal Guards with me, along with some of Ty Lee's Kyoshi Warriors."

"My uncle and I carved through a platoon of Royal Guards like they were cake. You and Azula did the same."

"But they can think." Mai leaned down, holding Zuko's neck in embrace while reading over his shoulder. "Defending against an open spear is easy, defending against a hidden arrow is harder. And they can help detect the hidden arrows. Besides, we'll have a Fire Nation team of our own. Just pick one that doesn't have a grudge against us."

"I guess that means the aspirants from Clan Chan and Clan Ruon-Jian are out," Zuko quipped as he picked up another stack, this one containing the dossiers of aspirants to represent the Fire Nation. They were good kids, all. Strong ones, each hailing from prestigious martial clans. Clan Jaghatai, the bowlords of the steppes, home of the Rough Rhinos. Clan Murong, one of the oldest firebending families in existence. Clan Xiong, from which his own still-long-lost mother had hailed. Even Clan Zhao – no, that was a bad idea. As he flipped through the dossiers, analyzing the relative strengths and weaknesses of each applicant, one soon became apparent.

* * *

"The Fire Lord has chosen us?"

"Was it ever really a surprise? Though our influence has waned since the war ended, we are still the greatest of the clans who openly support him. And I suspect there were political reasons behind this honor as well."

"Very well. So shall we tap Shijie? As heir to the Clan, it is his rightful place to represent us in such important affairs."

"No, he's too old. Did you not read the rules? They don't want anyone who has fought in the war. This is to represent the new generation who will have had their formative years in peacetime."

"That narrows it down considerably. Bataar?"

No, Bataar is of too simple mind. What of Yunfei? From what I recall, he is the best broadsword-wielder of his generation, next in line for the position of Administrator of the Broadsword Chamber. Grew up free from the spectre of war, though has lost family to it. Retains the youthful vigor and arrogance of having returned from his pilgrimage. Dedicated to our traditional values."

"Is that the type of person we want representing the Fire Nation and the Clan?"

"That's the only type of person who can represent the Fire Nation and the Clan."


	2. Chapter 1:Tinker, Dancer, Warrior, Smith

_**A/N: **__Yes, I do train kung fu if you couldn't tell that already. Started out with Chen Style Tai Chi, then branched out to 6 months of Shaolin/San Shou and 4 years of wushu. Personally specialize in the wushu mantis fist form. You will see this influence a lot more as this story goes on._

Chapter 1:  
Tinker, Dancer, Warrior, Smith

**"_And now, ladies and gentlemen, the moment you've all been waiting for, let the first biannual Harmony Games begin!"_**

Ouyang Yunfei, scion to Clan Ouyang of the Fire Nation, took a deep breath as he heard Xin Fu's voice reverberating across the amphitheater. He rolled his neck back and forth, loosening the joints there, then clasped his hands together and began working the joints, moving on to his hips and shoulders after that. Windbreaker, his nine-ring broadsword, lay strapped to his back, and he was clad in what looked like standard Fire Nation combat armor, except that he did not wear a helmet for the sake of the crowds, and the hard leather plates of deep red and bright gold actually fit comfortably against his frame. There were definitely perks when your family was the biggest supplier of arms, armor, and materiel for the Fire Nation war machine, such that at least half the officer corps and more of the soldiers carried at least one object stamped with the Ouyang seal of approval. This in turn made them one of the more influential clans in the Fire nation, and Yunfei was pretty sure that was why he was picked.

But enough political pontifications. Right now it was time to check out his partner, doing warm-up stretches. She was a pretty thing, thin, slight, but filled out in all the right places, with a round face and large limpid eyes. And those splits were making her look real damn hot. By Tengri and Agni, he loved the Clanmaster for making him this match.

Ty Lee, meanwhile, ignored the glances sent her way, instead looking forward to appraise her opponents. She wore her Kyoshi Warrior getup, green dress, bright gold chestplate and shoulder pads, green vambraces, white makeup with bright red eyeshadow, and carried the full assortment of short katana, shield, and fans. She heard the announcer introduce them as** "_the Eagle of the Grasslands, the Young Lord Ouyang Yunfei of Clan Ouyang and his lady luck, his betrothed bride-to-be, the Swallow of Kyoshi's Isle, Lady Ty Lee of the Kyoshi Warriors_"** and wasn't quite sure how she felt about that. After all, she did run away when the match was first proposed, and she was pretty much here only because Suki pointed out how a team consisting of a match between a powerful Fire Nation clan and a Kyoshi Warrior would do well to promote harmony. Sure, there were opportunities to bond and talk on the way here, but much of it was just the general pleasantries with the occasional moments of funny and awkwardness interspersed. She also didn't know how she felt about Clan Ouyang itself; from what she recalled of her lessons at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls, they were one of the more conservative clans, and despite their staunch overt support for Zuko, she really couldn't imagine them approving too much of her new circle of friends.

"Ready, darlin'?" she heard Yunfei ask.

Ty Lee nodded her assent, and the pair stepped into the arena to the tune of the Fire Nation national anthem.

* * *

"You sure have a way with luck, Sokka. Right in the first match, and you land us against the Ouyang champion and the walking massage machine, if massages paralyzed you. Can't believe I let you talk me into this."

"Oh come on, Kei, that's not fair. It's a round robin, we would have faced them sooner or later," Sokka cried out in indignation as he helped his partner into a stretch. Kei Mallari, from the gypsy tribes of the Earth Kingdom, slightly tanned, head full of long dark hair tied into a ponytail, tall, thin, and graceful, dancer by trade but strangely also knew how to handle herself in a fight. They'd struck up a friendship easily after meeting in an inn three years ago, and with Suki busy leading the Kyoshi Warriors, Toph busy watching the other White Lotus kid, and everyone else from the Boomeraang Gang unavailable or fighting – no, competing – on different teams, Kei became the next natural choice. _Screw you, Aunt Wu,_ he thought darkly, as a Water Tribe drumbeat heralded their arrival.

"Since when have you known me to fight fair?" Kei replied. "All right, I'm all warmed up. Are you-" Just then, she was interrupted by Xin Fu's voice.

**"_From the mysterious gypsy tribes of the Earth Kingdom, the dangerous, the deadly, the exotic Kei Mallari, the Glaive Dancer!"_**

Kei rolled her eyes. Really? "Exotic"? She may be a dancer, and her outfit may have definitely shown quite a bit of leg in the interest of lightness and mobility, but she was most definitely *not* that kind of dancer.

**"_And her partner, Crown Prince Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe!"_**

Indignation soon turned to mirth as she tried and failed to stifle back a snigger.

"Really? 'Crown Prince Sokka'?"

"You know it's true," Sokka replied with a grin. "Remember the plan?"

"Of course. I came up with most of it. Come on, let's go to it."

* * *

Go to it the two teams did, blitzing and smashing into each other in a tangle of blades, fists, and feet right in the middle of the ring, ignoring the chest high walls, the scattered trees, and the stream running across the center. Base on analysis, Sokka and Kei figured that the other team's plan would simply to turn it into a series of two one-on-ones, figuring that since Ty Lee was able to defeat Sokka in the past, she should still be able to do it now, which naturally left Yunfei to keal with Kei. As battle was joined, this was clearly the case, with Ty Lee leading the charge, aerialing over Kei's glaive swing and rolling under a slash from Sokka's straightsword before stopping to strike at the pressure points on his arms, while Yunfei swung his sword in a series of figure-eights before clashing with Kei.

_Just as planned._

"You got better," Ty Lee said as Sokka chained three lunge-thrusts together, then turned and sliced downwards in a "Sparrow Pecks at the Earth", forcing Ty Lee to dive-roll to the side. But the Kyoshi Warrior immediately came out of her dodge and threw her fans, and as Sokka knocked the projectiles aside with his sword, the momentary distraction was enough for her to flip up into his personal space. She punched at a point on his shoulder, but he was ready, his lead foot placed at a 45-degree angle, just enough for him to circle behind her with a turn of the ankle and launch a palm strike with his off hand to the center of her back.

It was a move derived from the "walking the eight trigrams" exercise in airbending footwork, and it almost struck home, but Ty Lee butterfly-twisted just out of range as soon as she saw the Water Tribesman disappear from vision. She held her collapsible shield and sword in a ready position, waiting.

"A lot better," she added. Sokka grinned. Now that the war was over, Sokka was fully inducted into the White Lotus and had all the time in the world, up to four years, to learn everything and more than Piandao had to offer. He and Kei was banking on the unexpected increase in his skill to distract Ty Lee long enough for Kei to pull something out of her bags of tricks.

"Just because you look like my girlfriend doesn't mean I'll go easy on you," he quipped, charging forward with sword held high.

"Good. I wouldn't have it any other way," Ty Lee replied as she did the same.

* * *

"Why no firebending?" Kei asked as her glaive met Yunfei's sword in the latest of what must have been at least a hundred clashes. "Aren't you people pretty high up the Fire Nation totem pole? I can't imagine this spot being given to a non-bender." She took a brief glance over to her partner, noting that he was doing as well as expected. She whipped out a set of steel ball bearings and hurled them at Ty Lee, but Yunfei dashed in between the projectiles, striking them from the air with a blindingly fast flurry of swings before turning on to her. Horizontal, vertical, diagonal, the cuts came from every which direction, and Kei could almost hear the murderous ringing of the Ouyang's sword as each swing came dangerously close to drawing blood.

_Was that the Raging Wind? _Kei briefly wondered, as the most recent slice neatly sheared off a few strands of hair before she danced away.

"Because neither of you bend," Yunfei replied, rolling over a low swing, then launching a downwards cut that Kei blocked with the bottom of her glaive shaft. "It wouldn't be fair," he added, launching himself back up by pushing against her weapon just in time to deflect a thrust. "Besides, I don't think I'll need it. I have heard it said that all you gypsies do is fight from the shadows?"

_Oh no he didn't._

"That was not a wise thing to say, Young Lord Ouyang," Kei replied, retreating in a series of defensive motions and acrobatics as Yunfei redoubled his assaults. "Highly unwise." The amphitheater that housed the arena had a domed roof, such that anything the fighters said could echo to the ears of everyone in attendance. "Extremely unwise."

"Oh? Why?" The Fire National raised his sword to block a downward slash.

"Because I'll make you eat those words, and then you'll look like a fool, is why."

* * *

Yunfei saw the gypsy girl cut at him and immediately raised Windbreaker to block, but it was a feint as she instead thrust upwards at his face. He backpedaled, but she caught the blade of his weapon with the hook on her glaive, then raised the butt end to hit him right in the dragon's pearls. He wore a cup, of course, but the impact was still jarring, and a follow-up kick wrenched the sword from his hand.

_Well, crap. Now I'm in for it,_ Yunfei thought. "Your weapon is your life; never let it leave your hand" was something drilled into all Ouyangs from the minute they could walk, and that was definitely something many among the audience knew, judging from the "OHHH"s that reverberated throughout the stands that sounded like the union of every bystander reaction to the first blow of a primary school shoving match.

He did not have time to dwell on that, however. The gypsy girl thrust at him, but he spun aside, grabbed the shaft, and drove his shoulder into her, forcing her to let go with an audible "oof". It was a good weapon, well-balanced, masterfully forged – it had to have been, to withstand so many strikes against Windbreaker with barely a scratch, and Yunfei had to resist the urge to look for an Ouyang trademark somewhere. Yunfei briefly thought about appropriating it for his own use, but discarded the idea within a second. It was unfamiliar weapon, and the gypsy probably had some countermeasures for having her glaive stolen anyway, so he instead hurled it away as far as he could lest she get her hands back on it.

That brief second of deliberation, however, was all she needed to get all up in his face, throwing punches and kicks that he felt even through his armor. _By Tengri, that girl hits hard_. He immediately switched to his Clan's hand-to-hand combat forms, the soft yet fluid movements of the Grand Ultimate Fist, along with the fast ferocious swipes and slashes of the Eagle Claw, and the generally well-rounded techniques of the Loose-Hand style, but it just wasn't taking. Though he wasn't bending, he also didn't think it would help even if he had. Either she'd dodge by being quick and fast as a…a freak, or he would do something like punch at her head, only for her to throw a punch of her own that would land on the inside of his own blow, deflecting while simultaneously attacking at him.

The first time, he threw a left hook, she'd interrupted it with a punch to the nose that he barely ducked under. The next time he threw a right cross, and she did the same, except this one landed. She followed up with a series of chain punches, attacking right at his centerline, forcing him to keep his hands up, then suddenly dashed forward and threw him to the ground with a leg outer reap. He backrolled away from a follow up kick, but now she was within those uncomfortably close quarters again, pummeling away with chain punches and the occasional low kick. Once, he thought he found an opening and moved in to attack, but the presence of a suddenly thrown boomerang disrupted the rhythm of that maneuver, and she'd blocked his punch with one hand while throwing an elbow into his bicep with her free arm, and even though he blocked the follow-up face strike with his off hand and checked a simultaneous low kick, the next backfist tagged him in the face again, followed by more flurries of strikes.

"Still don't think you need that bending?"

Close, conservative, and compact. These new movements were completely unlike the ones she was using with the glaive. But now he was becoming somewhat familiar with them. The next time she launched into the flurry of chain punches, he began deflecting them with the Cloud Hands technique, the circular motion of his hands just like polishing the windshield to a steam tank as he retreated from the stream of blows. Soon, an opening presented itself, and he caught her wrist, grabbed the elbow, and pushed down, holding her into an armlock.

"No, I think I got it," Yunfei quipped back.

That was when she _contorted_, arching her leg over her back in a scorpion kick and smashing her heel into the top of his head.

* * *

In the stands, eight sets of eyes observed the spectacle before them, most of whom had something to say.

"Ouch, that's gotta smart. I'm blind, and even I felt that one."

"Yeah, he's not taking that so well. Why was Dad so worried about Clan Ouyang being the Fire Nation representative?"

"See Brad, look at how she's dodging all my brother's sword strikes? That's exactly what she did back when we fought in Omashu. And actually – that's exactly how she tagged me once. But then Appa showed up and carried us all away."

"Wow. She manage to tag you? She's going to be hard to fight, then. But I'll make you proud, Sifu Katara, I promise!"

"The Lady Ty Lee is acquitting herself nicely. And surprisingly, Miss Mallari is as well."

"The boy is a fool to not use his bending. And the girl…hmph."

"How disappointing. Zuko seriously though _this guy_ could protect me?"

"Yeah, he's not doing so hot. But your friend is doing pretty well though. She's so graceful."

* * *

"Not fair. Suki's giving you preferential treatment for training," Ty Lee quipped as she and Sokka circled each other. Both fighters were breathing somewhat heavily at this point. Even though Ty Lee had added the Kyoshi Warrior repertory to her arsenal of techniques, but so had Sokka, and his training with Suki and the White Lotus was allowing him to counter everything she threw at him so far. The other stuff wasn't so bad; she'd faced people using standard Fire Nation swordplay before, the Water Tribes' bending techniques did not mesh as well with their melee techniques, and the straightsword was simply not a very compatible weapon with earthbending.

But that circle-walking footwork was seriously messing with her aura. Usually she was the one who could hit people at unexpected angles before they could react, but now he was doing the same thing, even managing to tag her in the back once. She whipped out her hairpins and threw them at him, briefly wondering if he and Kei had come up with the same plan they did, just with opposite expectations.

"Hey, I worked just as hard as you did to learn those techniques," she heard the Water Tribesman reply as he dodged and backed up into that annoying airbender stance again, side profile, both legs bent, back foot straight, front foot angled.

Time to try something else.

She lunged at him, a little exaggeratedly, but not so much that he'd expect anything out of the ordinary. He turned, just as he did all those times before, expecting to end up behind her.

Ty Lee grinned as she backflipped and landed behind Sokka as soon as he disappeared from her field of vision. From the way he moved, it seemed he had seen a move similar to this, but not often enough as she landed right behind him and struck, quick as a leaping spider-serpent. That was when a sharp biting pain exploded in her chest, even as she felt the small jolt of chi as her knuckles impacted squarely with his back pressure point and watched him collapse like a sack of fire-potatoes.

"Ow! You hit my boob, you jerk!"

"So? You paralyzed me!"

"Yeah, well you hit my boob!"

* * *

Kei Mallari could have gloated a little inside as she saw the young Ouyang fall to the ground, barely catching himself with his hands as he shook his head to clear it. _That'll teach him to underestimate a nonbender_, she could have thought. "Protip: take your sense of superiority and shove it," she could have said. But she didn't, because she was all about professionalism, and gloating was not professional.

Instead, she simply grabbed his shoulders and somersaulted behind him, looping an arm across his neck in a rear naked choke. Firebending came from the breath, and cutting that off was often a quick-and-simple way to shut down firebenders. And it would be a good move if he decided to take her not-given advice and shove that sense of superiority and start firebending.

She shivered involuntarily when she landed. Did it suddenly get colder in here?

* * *

_Okay. That hurt. _

Yunfei's head was still swimming from when that gypsy girl – Kei – kablammed him right in the noggin, and it took everything he had to maintain a modicum of clarity as he saw her disappear and felt the weight on his shoulders. Fortunately, his mind immediately went back to the sparring sessions he'd had with the sun-and-stars-of-his-life as a bonding exercise, and he reached out with one hand to grab the arm that snaked around his throat while jumping up before Kei could kick out the backs of his knees. As he landed, he felt the solid earth beneath his feet again, putting him in perfect position for what came next.

_Close-quarters grappling? Girl, you do not do that with a son of the steppes. _

* * *

**"_Aaaaaaand the Southern Prince is out, disabled by the captivating Kyoshi-ite! And on the other side, it looks like the Glaive Dancer about to put the kibosh on the Ouyang disciple – but what's this? A reversal! That was a textbook fireman-carry toss, the traditional wrestling of the Fire Nation's steppe tribesmen, ladies and gentlemen! Ouyang Yunfei catches his second wind, but can he hold it?"_**

All right, perhaps grappling an Ouyang was not the best choice.

"Damn straight," Kei heard Yunfei say at Xin Fu's commentary. No matter, as she quickly recovered from the toss, turning into a handspring that brought her back on her feet into a drop stance. There was still a shot yet, however. One of the bandage wraps she wore along her exposed arms and legs glowed ever so lightly through the seams as she put on a sudden additional burst of speed, dashing for the Ouyang lordling. She spun, extending her arms and laying into him with a Coiling Dragon strike, her hands like the bladed tips of a windmill as they struck for him.

As soon as her hands touched his, she knew something was wrong.

"You feel that cold, Kei?" she heard Yunfei quip as his hands stuck to hers in another series of deflecting motions, much like the Cloud Hands from earlier. She did feel it, shivering increasingly as it grew colder. He was pulling her forward, and she couldn't stop it – but for one possible method. As the Ouyang continued his pull, she suddenly leapt forward in a blindingly fast flying kick, hoping to disrupt what he had planned. Unfortunately, he saw and deflected that too. She knew what was coming next, knew from all the stories. She saw Yunfei sink low into a drop stance, still gripping on to her arm. She managed to wrench free, however, and raised both hands in front of her to block.

"You wanted bending? Here it is."

She saw Yunfei sink fully into his stance, then cut loose and launch himself forward, the force coming from the ground to his rear leg to his hips to his shoulder to his elbow to his arm in a single whiplike motion, joining the ambient heat stolen from the atmosphere, concentrated with chi coming from his _dan-tian_, combining and compressing into a compact ball of fire that impacted right with her gut. It knocked her back, sending her tumbling for a good several meters before coming to a complete stop. She crawled back up to her feet, just in time to register the tornado kick that smashed into her jaw, twisting her head around, cutting off the blood flow from her carotid arteries.

Everything went black before she hit the ground.

* * *

"Sifu Katara, that looks an awful lot like the 'Splitting the Wild Horse's Mane' from 74-step Waterbending form," a bystander commented.

"It does, Brad. It does." The waterbending master frowned. She saw what Zuko went for there by choosing the Clan Ouyang representative. Already she was hearing murmurs of disease about the Fire Nation selected a merchant of death to represent them. The multinational nature of the team, as well as that of Clan Ouyang's distinct firebending style, stifled that somewhat…as long as there were no Southern Water Tribesfolk present to recognize the origins of those techniques.

* * *

**"Winner, Team Fire Nation!"**

Yunfei grinned as he half-jogged to where Ty Lee was and opened his arm to embrace. The fight had been hard, and he was panting, but he paid it no mind as the love of his life returned the PDA.

"That was good, Yunfei," Ty Lee whispered into his ear. "Are you alright?" she asked, pulling a silk scarf from her dress and dabbing at the blood running down his nose. _Oh, by Tengri, this was sweet as moon cake and refreshing like the night winds in summer. _

"I couldn't have done it without you, star of my heart," he whispered back, planting a kiss on her cheek while he was at it. He thought he saw the brief glimpse of a smile on her face, and that was enough. "Come on, we should help them up."

Ty Lee nodded, then bounded over to where Sokka was and undid the paralysis.

"Thanks," Sokka said as the feeling returned to his limbs.

Meanwhile, Kei was coming to, and she paused for a second before taking the outstretched hand that Yunfei offered her.

"You know, you're not too bad for a firebender with an overly inflated ego," she said.

"And you're not so bad for an Earthe – an Earth Kingdomite," Yunfei added. "You landed some good hits on me there. A lot of them, come to think of it. By Tengri, I'm gonna need an ice pack once we hit the infirm."

* * *

In forseeance of the injuries that could be sustained in such a tournament, the Harmony Games arena boasted quite an extensive infirmary, staffed with the best healers in Ba Sing Se and the Northern Water Tribe. They now worked on the four contestants.

"Dude, you are such a crap partner."

"It wasn't my fault, Kei! She came out of nowhere?"

"Yeah, yeah. Just don't fail so hard next time, alright?"

"That…that hurts, Kei. Right in the ego. Especially in the ego."

"Oh, suck it up you big baby. You know I'm just joking. Everything I say is a lie."

"Okay…wait, what about that last statement?"

"Everything I say is a lie."

In another wing, a different conversation was taking place.

"Man, that Earther chick really did a number on me."

Ty Lee frowned at this. "Earther?"

"Oh, wait, we're not supposed to call them that any more, are we?"

"Not since the war ended, no."

"Well, come on. We're alone. Ain't noboby going to hear us."

"Actually, I'd appreciate it if you didn't call them that ever. A lot of my friends in the Kyoshi Warriors are from the Earth Kingdom."

"Sorry babe. Won't happen again."

"I sure hope so."

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Yunfei called out. His eyes lit up upon seeing the one who came in. It was a man, of clear Fire Nation stock, tall but evenly proportioned, rectangular of face and scholarly in appearance, save for the dueling scars on his left cheek and the calluses on his hands. "Yunteng!" he cried out in joy.

"That was a good fight, little bro," Yunteng said, smiling. "There's someone else to see you as well." He motioned behind him, to an older man, handsome in appearance, with a perpetual easygoing smile on his face, clad in shimmering crimson dress robes embroidered with a flying dragon pattern.

"You do our clan proud, Yunfei."

Yunfei's eyes opened wide.

"Cousin Shijie," he noted, bowing. "What brings you to this little town?"

"We are representing our nation and clan. As heir, how could I not come? But seriously, that was good. The Earther girl had you on the run, but you showed her." Shijie turned his attentions to the other girl. "Ah, is this your charming bride-to-be? She is as beautiful as she is capable in battle." The Ouyang heir knelt down to kiss her hand. "That was good, shutting down the Tribal like that," he said. "A wonderful showing, miss-"

"Are you all like this?" Ty Lee interjected, a cross expression on her face. "I had thought you all had changed. Looks like I thought wrong."

"Ty-" Yunfei started, but she cut him off.

"That's really disgraceful, the way you guys are acting. I had thought better of a noble clan like yourself. I'm going to go visit our opponents and congratulate them. You can have your little bigot-party here." With that, Ty Lee stormed off in a huff.

Yunfei made to follow, but Yunteng stopped him.

"I run the Ba Sing Se branch of the Ironworks," he said. "I would be better at calming her down. You stay and talk with Shijie. I think he could definitely give you some pointers." A mischievous grin appeared on his face. "Especially in terms of not getting disarmed by an Earth Kingdom girl who can't bend."

* * *

"What do you make of the Ouyang?"

"I think he may be a little misguided. Especially with his bride-to-be influencing him. But so far I believe he will serve our purposes nicely."

"Very well. We will stick with the original plan for now."

* * *

**_Codex:_**

_Due to the vast mix of cultures the Harmony Games will bring, it is important to note the following nomenclature to avoid giving offense:_

_Citizens of the Water Tribes are to be called Water Tribesmen, Water Tribeswomen, Water Tribesfolk, or Water Tribespeople/Tribesperson. "Tribal" is a holdover from the hostilities of the war and not to be used._

_Citizens of the Earth Kingdom are to be called Earth Kingdomites. "Earther" is a holdover from the hostilities of the war and not to be used._

_Citizens of the Fire Nation are to be called Fire Nationals. "Matchstick" is a holdover from the hostilities of the war and not to be used._

_Citizens of the Air Nomads are to be called Air Nomads. "Twinkie" is a holdover from the hostilities of the war and not to be used._

_~Excerpt from the official pamphlet to the Harmony Games._


	3. Chapter 2: Roll Tide

Chapter 2:  
Roll Tide

"But my Fire Lady, the Fire Nation anthem is only fitting and proper-"

"For a Fire Nation team. As it happens, this is a Northern Water Tribe team. Use their anthem."

"Ah, they don't have one."

"Then pick a song, any song. Do 'Four Seasons, Four Loves' if you have to. Or maybe you should consult the actual primary for this team. Qing?"

"Hmm? Oh, um, let's have 'Secret Tunnel?'"

Mai looked at her partner blankly. Ximen Qing, the first female combat waterbender in the Northern Water Tribe. In a strange turn of events, a protégé of sorts for her. A sweet girl, if a little young and sheltered, and apparently highly deprived in terms of popular culture as well.

"…all right."

Her team, her choice.

* * *

"Man oh man oh man this is insane Sifu Katara I dunno if I can do it I heard that girl was the best of her class in the Northern Tribe what if I mess up that would be-"

"Calm down, Brad. Just remember what I've taught you and you'll be fine." Katara rose from her stretches and looked back at her student. "And really, it's no big deal. Not like you have everyone in our class along with spectators from all over the world watching you."

"…That was mean, Sifu Katara."

"Don't worry, Brad," Katara laughed. "This is the best way you will learn. And I'll always be there in case things get messy."

* * *

Elevated octagonal earthen platform. Layers of chest-high metal walls lining the outer edges. A yin-yang symbol drawn in the center, with deep pools of water forming the dots. These were actually the first things Mai noticed when she watched the previous match, between Team Fire Nation and Team Unbending, as the crowds were already calling them. The barricades had gone unused then due to the propensity for melee combat on the part of the previous round's combatants, but for Mai, they would be indispensible. For one without bending, knowing how the terrain was laid out and where cover could be located was a matter of simple survival, and from the moment Ty Lee entered the arena last time, she was already consigning the details into her mind sharpened by years of courtly training and high-class memorization-based education.

The gates even opened, and Mai rushed for one of the many chest-high metal walls that dotted the outer edges of the arena, hurling a brace of throwing knives across the field to where Brad and Katara were exiting to force them back. Qing soon followed, drawing from the water skins strapped to her hips and lower back as she added a burst of ice spears while she half-crept, half-loped to the piece of cover ahead and to the right of Mai's position. They were positioned well, both fighters having a clear shots across the arena to where their opponents were, but also far enough apart so that they could not both be taken out by a single massive bending attack, and spaced so that neither was in the other's line of fire. Sure enough, she saw Katara and Brad taking cover across the field, trying to make their way across to closer proximity to the pools in the center so they could really bring their waterbending to bear , could even make out slight murmurs coming from their end due to the amphitheater's acoustics, as they discussed their plans…

"Your call, Brad. Direct me."

…Seriously? Does she think this is a classroom?

Mai popped her head up, flashed a set of battlesigns to Qing, then let off another burst and ducked back down as soon as she received confirmation from her partner. The shootout continued for a bit, Mai and Qing's quick ranged attacks keeping Brad and Katara pinned, but then Qing suddenly blocked a retaliatory water shot a little too late, falling back as a phasing shot from Brad engulfed her hand up to the shoulder in ice. The Fire Lady kicked off a set of arrows from holsters on her calves and dove to the side, drawing attention away from her partner. As the waterbender team turned their attacks towards her, she saw Qing quietly melt the ice – her own ice, timed to coincide with Brad's shot from earlier, meant to make them think she was out. The Northern Waterbender got into stance and began a series of waterbending movements. Her arms circled this way and that, led by her waist and shoulders, drawing water from her sacks as well as the pool closest to her, the liquid rising and falling with each breath she took, until she cut loose with a singular water cannon blast. It soared towards her target, spiraling angrily, taking on the form of a roaring polar-bear dog pouncing at its Water Tribe targets even as they pummeled at Mai's position with water whips and ice projectiles.

_Showoff. But might as well end it with some flair._

"You have to be more aware of your surroundings, Brad," Mai heard Katara say as Katara suddenly turned around right before Qing's shot would have hit and dispelled the aquatic construct with a single flick of the arm, following up by spinning, reforming the water blast into a single sphere, and shooting it out in a single torrent that split and curved as it reached Mai's barricade, hoping to catch her in a pincer motion.

* * *

"YEAH! GO KATARA! WHOOP HER BUTT!"

"Guy, can you have a little class, at least? All our neighbors are staring at us," Kei Mallari grumbled as she watched the back-and-forth. It had been like that with every single movement Katara did. Sokka was cool in her book, but sometimes he could get a little carried away. To her added annoyance, the seat did not go as far back as she might have liked. Perhaps opting out of the contestants' box on the reasoning that it would be good for the fighters to start meeting their fans was, in fact, not such good reasoning after all.

"No, it's fine," Ty Lee replied. "Yunfei's been doing the same thing with Mai."

"Hey, I think I'm a little bit calmer than that, if I do say so myself," Yunfei cut in, grinning. "Besides, she's the Fire Lady. I'm supposed to do that as an upstanding citizen of the Fire Nation." Kei's ears picked up a few minute grumbles from around her at this, but she paid it no mind.

"You do say so yourself," Ty Lee replied, taking Yunfei's hand as he reached out for hers before turning back to Kei. "Hey, you wanna see something funny?"

"What?" Kei asked, cocking an eyebrow while a wry grin crept up one side of her face. She liked Ty Lee. Girl was actually the first to visit her after their match. Well, no; Katara was the first to enter her room, but Katara had been there to see Sokka first and foremost, so _technically_ Ty Lee was the first to come visit _her_. Kei was a dancer. Ty Lee was an acrobat. Two girls, performers both. The rapport had been easy after that, even after Yunfei came in and immediately set to talking swords and metal with Sokka.

Oh, boys and their toys. Speaking of toys, Ty Lee handed her a telescope.

"See that box over there? That's where the other Fire Nation nobles sit. You can see them jump every time Team Northern Water Tribe lets off a shot. That one Royal Guard over there has the best twitch-eye going on!"

In the interest of stopping the perception of Fire Nation soldiers as faceless mooks, the Royal Guards assigned to Mai had taken to removing their helmets, and Kei could see clearly that the one Ty Lee pointed out didn't so much twitch as had a flea-tipillar for an eyebrow every time a waterbending attack came within half a meter of the Fire Lady's person. His countenanced calmed down a little as Mai dodged the pincer attack that Katara had thrown, only to return exactly three seconds later when a water ship almost tagged her as she moved to a different piece of cover. Kei switched her view to the other boxes, seeing Toph Bei Fong chatting with a tall and strongly-built Fire Nation boy of roughly twenty, while the Earth Kingdom team stood aloof by themselves in another section of the stands.

"Heh. That is quite amusing. But one thing I don't quite get – Mai's your best friend, right? So how come you're not worried? I get that Katara's got a reputation for being nice and all, but she's still one of the most powerful waterbenders in the world."

Ty Lee looked at the arena with a faraway expression in her eyes.

"Mai is a…a remarkable woman," she said with a voice full of conviction. "She found the strength to defy Azula and inspired me to find my own. I believe in her. She won't fall."

* * *

Brad was feeling pretty good about himself. The other team kept hiding behind cover, so he had suggested creating their own so that they could get to the pools and really get some waterbending going. "Good thinking, Brad," Sifu Katara had said, sending a sense of pride and accomplishment swelling into his chest like the morning tides. They had first filled the entire area with fog, then created discs of ice that now floated about them as they advanced, using the projectiles that Qing threw at them as well as moisture drawn from the air as building material. Soon they would have more than enough water to do something really awesome, like throw a massive wave over Mai's cover and freeze it, or create a water spout from which they could rain watery death, or even try that octopus form that Katara had shown him –

A handful of knives buried themselves right where he was about to step next, causing him to yelp out in alarm. Suddenly he felt a tendril of water close over his mouth and shove him to the ground as Katara hit the floor, a mere split second before another brace of throwing knives and icicle spears flew over them.

Katara made a "shh" signal, then scrambled over to the pool with catlike tread and began drawing water.

* * *

"Did you learn a lesson, Brad?"

"Uh…constant vigilance?"

"Concealment isn't the same thing as cover. Just because they can't see you, doesn't mean they can't guess where you are."

Mai ignored the didacticism, instead preparing herself as Qing hopped over her barrier. Since the waterbending team had already made their way to the pools, a different tactic was needed. Qing already had two water whips formed, ready to defend herself once she made her move.

"Oh…I see."

"The barrier was a good idea. But less so the fog, since they know we're going for the water pools, so all fog does is make it harder for us to see where they're attacking from."

Suddenly, the fog disappeared, dispelled with a single sweep of the arm by Qing. Brad and Katara paused for a slight second, surprised at their sudden loss of _concealment_, during which time Mai lined up the shot like she had countless times in the past, thumbed an activation stud hidden in her sleeves, and hurled a brace of projectiles at her adversaries, motioning for Qing to launch an attack of her own at the same time.

* * *

"Katara, shield!"

Katara nodded in approval, shrinking the water tentacle to pull together an ice shield to block Mai's attack as Brad met Qing head-on. Oh, this brought her back to the good old days, if being pursued/stalked by an honor-hungry prince and a psychotic princess while the threat of global omnicide loomed could be considered "good" and "old." Still, this wasn't anything she hadn't seen before. Her thoughts briefly flashed to when she first fought Mai for the first time those years ago in Omashu, to the Fire National's superb ability with throwing knives, to how Katara didn't even have time to form any kind of defense and had to smash part of the platform she was standing on to use as cover. The Fire Lady's skill had only improved in those years of turmoil after, but so had she. Katara knew what to do, just gather the water, pack it in densely so the expansion from freezing won't reduce its strength, angle it to present greater protection and create deflectio-

The shield exploded into a thousand pieces, the cacophony of its shattering joining the murderous whistling of the projectiles as they sailed through the air right towards her.

* * *

"Woohoo! Yeah! Go Mai!"

Ouyang Yunfei looked out of his peripheral vision at Ty Lee, all lithe and sexy-like in that pink midriff-baring getup that she usually wore, who was now quite enthusiastically cheering on her friend and Fire Lady. He silently thanked his brother for smoothing things over. He did legitimately feel kind of bad about the incident in the infirmary; the world was an entirely new place, and years of compulsory primary education, not to mention the memories of countless relatives dead or injured, were hard to overcome.

But she had begrudgingly accepted his apologies, and he would try for her sake.

Which is why instead of shouting "For the Khan and the Fire Lord!" as the steppe side of his clan would have done, or some other common Fire Nation war cry as the other side of his clan would have done, Yunfei instead went for a more neutral "All right! Get some!" as the dart severed one of Katara's hair loopies, laughing as he reached over and held Ty Lee's hand in his. To his relief, she did not pull away, instead running her fingertips over the rough calluses on his knuckles.

**"_That broke right through that ice shield like a badgermole through the walls of Na Sing Se! Folks, those were the patented Dragontusk Darts of Ouyang Ironworks. A solid tungsten penetrative core encased in a multi-stage spring-and-blasting-jelly propulsion mechanism for additional force, encased in a soft lead base carved with air grooves for minimal air resistance, along with some other stuff; the ultimate in concealable ranged proactive defense, on sale now at the Ba Sing Se branch! Available in exploding tip, squash-head, burst, and piercing varieties! Get yours today!"_**

Kei Mallari looked at him.

"Hey, Ouyang, you guys take mail orders? I think I need one of those things or twenty."

"Heh, tell me how many you need and I'll give you the family discount," Yunfei replied, laughing. Suddenly his ears caught the sounds of hushed whispers and furtive tongues.

"_Damn matchsticks kill our people, and now they sell the things they use to kill our people on our own soil. Bastards. Wish King Kuei had a spine."_

"_You and me both, brother. You catch the last match? Just like the Fire Nation to let a bunch of bloody merchants of death represent them. They should never have been allowed to participate."_

"_True, but then again, who better to represent the Fire Nation than their dogs of war?"_

Ouyang Yunfei felt his choler rise, a bitter and hot taste in the back of his throat as the words continued. His muscles tensed. His eyes narrowed. His nostrils flared. The hairs on the back of his neck rose. He scanned his surroundings, prowling through the audience with his eyes, peeling back layers of crowd to home in on the source of those offending words. A sudden wish that this was the Fire Nation arose, for had they been in the Fire Nation, challenges to Agni Kai could have been issued, and he would not have to sit here and suffer this affront to the honor of his clan and nation.

Soft fingertips rubbed the calluses on his knuckles.

"Is something wrong?" Ty Lee asked. "Your aura was a little angry."

"No, it's nothing, my sweetling," Yunfei replied, smiling as he raised her hand and kissed it. He sighed and went back to watching the match.

_For her._

* * *

Mai quickly ducked as the massive water whip cut overhead like the turbine to a zeppelin propulsion engine, quietly cursing to herself at her bad luck. Even though Brad and Katara were in the arena's center and therefore exposed, they now also had much more toys to play with, and the two waterbenders working in concert were hitting with much more power and precision. They'd flushed her from cover once already, only unable to finish her off because Qing had launched a flurry of ice arrows at Katara, which distracted Brad enough to make his water cannon shot go off course. The back and forth continued, with the Southern Water Tribe team taking deep stances and circling their arms to control what was not so much a water whip as a massive worm made of water that crashed and frothed in between the barriers in enfilade, forcing Mai and Qing to constantly move around instead of attacking.

Across from the arena, Qing flashed a set of battlesigns, and Mai nodded in assent. Both fighters hopped over the barricade and sped for the center of the ring, Mai using her natural speed, Qing surfing on a layer of ice. In this situation, staying in cover would make them sitting targets, but blitzing into close quarters range gave them a chance. Qing was a bender, so it didn't matter too much for the Water Tribe girl, but close quarters was where a nonbender like Mai might have an advantage, much as Kei had demonstrated in the last match. And even Qing was in a similar position, being pushed all over the arena by the concentrated power of two waterbenders acting in sync.

They had to disrupt that thing. She knew this, and she knew Qing knew this. But how?

As Mai pondered, the worm came roaring towards her again, and she hastily jumped out of the way, preparing to throw another bunch of darts when she suddenly came to a stop. Luckily she'd had her arm out and caught herself before she hit the ground too hard, and as she lurched forward she saw what had happened – she was not fast enough, and Katara and Brad had frozen her to the ground as soon as she got tagged.

Well, that's not good.

She saw Qing run for her, trying to get in range to melt the ice. Mai smiled and signed. _Remember what I taught you._ She threw a last brace of stilettos, even as ice holding her in place the ice holding her in place melted, rendering her weightless for just long enough that the water blast sent her hurtling towards the edge of the platform. The shot knocked the breath out of her, and she tried desperately to tuck and control her trajectory somehow.

_Alright, this was bullshit_, Mai thought darkly as she slammed into one of the metal barricades.

* * *

Ximen Qing of the Northern Water Tribe's eyes widened and her heart skipped a beat as she saw her partner hit the barricade with a thud and go limp. Mai was more than a friend. More than a mentor. She was…special. Seeing her taken out so early came as a shock. Qing wanted to call out in alarm, but she was more occupied on the last battlesigns Mai flashed before she went down.

_Remember._

Remember Qing did, to the days when Mai led the Fire Nation delegation to the Northern Water Tribe. She had been but a neophyte by then, splishing and splashing at waterbending, one of the few girls in the class after reforms had been instituted.

_"I'm sorry." But the old master was already moving on to his other students, mumbling about how his granddaughter must have been the exception that proved the rule.  
_

But the reforms came slowly, and she learned slowly, until the Fire Lady took her under wing and taught her. Not waterbending techniques, for that would be silly, but something more valuable.

_"Little girl lost, playing at combat waterbending when she should be in the back and casting some cure spells." She was drenched, head to toe, breathing heavily. She had told them to stop, pleaded, but they continued. "I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you over the sound of your menstruations."_

Qing drew upon the two pools, adopting a more upright and light-footed version of the octopus form even as Brad and Katara began turning their attentions from the downed Mai to her. She saw Brad take a deep stance and begin drawing water for another assault, heard him bark similar orders to Katara, who did the same.

_"Winner, and representative of the Northern Water Tribe for the first Harmony Games, Nukilik! Should any object-"_

_"I do."  
_

_"Excuse me? "  
_

_"I do"  
_

_"__Girl, we go easy on you in training for your inherent disadvantage. Don't go crying home because I won't hold back this time._"  


Qing punched outwards in a move not seen in any waterbending form, but in standard Fire Nation combatives. The resultant stream of water was much smaller, but also faster and more compact, and it clocked Brad right in the forehead just before he was able to complete charging his attack. Qing did not wait to see the results, however, right after the punch, she had kicked out at Katara as well, disrupting the water whip she was making.

The two Southern Waterbenders looked at each other quizzically.

"Don't just stand there, Brad. Make a move."

Ximen Qing smiled, put up her hands, and spoke the first words out of Team Northern Water Tribe since the match began.

"Come at me, bro."

* * *

**_"The Northern Water Tribe may be down a fighter, but they're still in the game! Ximen Qing's moving and bending like an entirely different person, she's slipping and weaving and intercepting both other waterbenders before they can finish their attacks! What is this new style she's exhibiting?"_**

In the White Lotus box, two masters regarded the bout with deep interest.

The sword master's brows furrowed in contemplation as he stroked his beard.

The waterbending master looked on with a scowl on his face.

* * *

"Oh man, what do we do, Sifu Katara, what do we do?"

"Calm down, Brad," Katara replied, frowning, her water whips a blur as she twirled them all about her in a defensive motion. "Just focus on your defenses. There's two of us and one of her, and she can't keep this up forever."

At least, Katara hoped not. So far, Qing was unleashing a veritable carpet-bombardment on the two of them. Slush balls, ice spears, water whips, frozen darts, water pulses, all sharp quick bursts that they had to defend against, the sheer ferocity of was steadily starting to overwhelm Brad. Katara narrowed her eyes. There was a time for hands-on instruction, and a time for teaching by example, and this was certainly one of the latter. She looked again. Qing's style was fast, hard, expedient – but it also lacked a certain amount of hitting power, and it was a departure from traditional waterbending.

Katara grinned. She could work with that. The waterbending master took a quick breath and threw an ice shield in front of Brad while simultaneously rolling to the side to avoid a brace of ice spears. Just keep moving, keep moving to avoid the projectiles, gathering up water as she did, preparing for another heavy-

A wave of throwing darts pierced her sleeves and pinned her to the ground.

_Oh, this was such a load of musk-walrus c-_

**"_A masterful possum ploy by the Fire Lady," _came the voice of Xin Fu. _"It looks like the younger waterbender's been unnerved and – frozen to the ground by Ximen Qing of the North! Game, set, match, ladies and gentlemen!"_**

* * *

"I'm sorry, Sifu Katara."

"It's all right, Brad. What's important is that you learned from this experience," Katara said from her bed in the infirm. "At least, I hope you did?"

Brad nodded enthusiastically. "We'll do better next round," he promised. Just then, the door opened, and a familiar face bounded in, followed by a less familiar one. Next thing Katara knew, she was being wrapped up in a strong embrace.

"It's good to see you too, Sokka."

"Oh, man, that was crazy! All those knives and needles flying everywhere!" Sokka pulled back from the embrace to appraise Brad. "Hey Brad," he said, "good seeing you here. Not bad for your first fight."

"No, not bad at all," Kei Mallari added. "So this is the star pupil that I've heard so much about." Brad reddened at the praise. "How long have you been training?"

"Three-and-a-half years," Brad said. "Sifu Katara says I'm ready to move past the limits of the training hall, so here I am." He tried to get up, wincing as he bumped a bruise from one of Qing's ice pellets.

"Katara, how come you haven't healed that yet?" Sokka asked.

"No, I wanted to remember," Brad quickly explained. "My first fight. I want to remember the lessons form it so I can be better next time."

"Admirable," Kei said, raising an eyebrow. "Although also unnecessary. And also bad if you let that sit for too long. Here, let me have a look at it." She knelt down by his bed, took his arm, and rubbed at the bruise. "My people have a form of massage therapy. _Tui-na_, we call it. Even if you don't want to be water-healed, you'll recover much faster that way."

As Kei worked, Brad felt a sense of calmness and peace float over him.

_This was really strangely comfortable, _he thought.

* * *

"You may go," Mai said, dismissing the Royal Guard at her bedside. "Stand guard outside our doors."

"But my lady-"

"I'm about to have Qing run some healing on me. For which I need to be undressed."

"Oh. Understood. My apologies."

Qing reddened a bit as Mai removed her outer robes, than the inner shirts and trousers, finally stripping down to her undergarments. The waterbender drew upon a ball of water from her water skin, which glowed as it passed into Mai's body and ran up and down her meridians. The Fire National closed her eyes and hissed, allowing a soothing wave to fill her as Qing worked her magic.

"That was good, Qing. You really took my lessons to heart out there."

"Thanks, Mai. It was all you though."

"Was it? I could tell that you were getting tired at the end, but I couldn't have come back if you didn't keep them busy."

Qing reddened again. That wasn't what she had meant.

"_People like that, they just want to make you feel small so they can feel big. And they say you should ignore them, or take it to an authority figure. Of course, that's all pretty useless if the authorities are in on it too. Now, I personally prefer to take them down a few notches. And if you're so inclined, I think I can show you how."_

But how to let her know?

There was a knock on the door. Mai's aura buzzed , reflecting annoyance, only to immediately coalesce into joy as she heard the voice of the knocker.

"Mai? Can we come in? Your guards are kind of not letting us in."

"It's fine," Mai called back. The door opened, and Qing saw not so much a group as a blur of pink that cartwheeled her way towards the healing bed and gave Mai a great deep hug.

"Shit, I'm sorry! Sorry! My apologies, my Fire Lady, I'll be waiting outside."

"No offense taken. Go," Mai said, ignoring Yunfei's reddening face as he quickly stumbled back out the door, holding his hands out over his face while averting his gaze and continuing to stammer apologies. A look of annoyance appeared on Mai's face, one that was quickly replaced as she turned to happier matters at hand. "Ty Lee," she said warmly, returning her old friend's embrace. "It's been too long."

"It has! Oh my stars, how have you been? It's so good to see you again. How's being the most important gal in the Fire Nation treating you?"

"Boring, as always," Mai replied. "Too much paperwork and galas and pomp-tomfoolery. And being the Fire Lady means you're not allowed to throw a knife at whoever annoys you. Zuko has it worse, though. I usually just have to show up and be eye candy, especially if we're meeting with the other nations. He has to do a lot of the actual work. What about you? I hear you're getting married to that Ouyang boy?" An awkward espression crept up Ty Lee's face. "Oh, it's like that, huh?"

"Well, he's been nice so far. But sometimes he says these _things_ and has this aura of conviction that I don't know if he's serious, or if he can change, or what."

"I'd give it a shot," Mai said. "If Zuko can go from capturing the Avatar to restore his honor to helping the Avatar to restore his honor, I think you can definitely turn him around." Ty Lee nodded, lips pursed in thought. "Ty Lee said, have you met Qing? Qing, this is Ty Lee. My best friend since childhood at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls. Ty Lee, Qing. We met when Zuko and I visited the Northern Water Tribe on a diplomatic mission. To smooth over that affair with Zhaoka."

Qing's eyes widened. "It's an honor to meet you, Ty Lee. Mai talks about you all the time. She says you saved her from Azula at the Boiling Rock."

Ty Lee smiled at the young girl. "No, it's the other way around. Mai was the one who saved me." Qing looked puzzled at this.

"Ty Lee…" Mai began, but her friend cut her off.

"Would you like to hear all about it?" Ty Lee asked.

"I would love to," Qing replied.

* * *

"Are you sure _it_ is under control?"

"Avatar Aang gave us his assurances. If we cannot trust what the spirits tell him, then who can we trust?"

"I hear there are spiritual gurus who walk the Earth Kingdom-"

"And where would you find one such? Face it, the fact remains it must needs be Kazuma."

"I suppose."

"Hey, don't be so worried. Don't forget, you have the greatest earthbender in the world watching him."

* * *

_**Codex**  
_

_Water Tribes:  
Subsection: Gender roles_

_Though they share a common root, the Northern and Southern Water Tribes take opposing approaches to the role of women waterbenders. The Southern Water Tribe has no stigma against women practicing combat waterbending. In fact, a great many of their cultural heroes have been women waterbenders who have stepped forth to serve their Tribe in times of need, with the most notable example in recent times being none other than Master Katara who aided the Avatar in his quest to restore balance to the world. In contrast, Northern Water Tribe traditions dictate that only men may practice combat waterbending, while girls who display waterbending aptitude are funneled off to learn healing. _

_International responses vary. Historically the Air Nomads have always been willing to let other nations practice their own cultures as they see fit. Similarly the Earth Kingdom, being comprised of many functionally independent city-states each with its own cultures and traditions, pay this no mind. The Fire Nation, however, has disdained this practice, and since the reign of Fire Lord Sozin, gender inequality has been cited as an example of the inherent inferiority of Water Tribe culture. _

_In recent times, due to pressure from Master Katara and the Avatar himself, and especially in light of the Siege of the North, the first batch of girls have been allowed to learn the art of combat waterbending. Yet old attitudes remain and run deep, and external pressures have a tendency to cause native culture to become even more deeply rooted. Time will tell if this turns out to be a success or an abortive failure._

_~The Complete Works of the Hundred Sciences, 52nd edition, Ba Sing Se University Press_


	4. Chapter 3: Clash of Titans

_**A/N:**__ This chapter concludes Round 1, giving you an idea of how al six teams fight as well as how they interact with each other. The next few chapters will see them interact in a noncombat environment, giving you an idea of the world at large, and hopefully allowing me to get in some actual characterization too. Also, national anthems for the Four Nations will be appearing, and you will generally be able to find what song they are by Googling the lyrics. The Earth Kingdom anthem here is based on Kimigayo, the anthem of Japan, which in turn is an old poem and one of the few national anthems that doesn't talk about war or battle at all. _

Chapter 3:  
Clash of Titans

"_Great __Earth King, may your reign  
Continue for ten thousand years,  
Until the tiny pebbles  
Grow into lasting boulders  
Lush with verdant moss"_

Lin Hayate stood at rigid parade rest as the Earth Kingdom national anthem played. He could feel his meridians buzzing, pulsing with chi as he went through a set of breathing exercises. This would be great. A wave of agitation, an ever so silent sigh of annoyance came from his partner behind him, but Lin paid it no mind. This was the song of his people. Lan-feng would just have to deal with it.

"Let's get this over with," Lan-feng sneered, brusquely shouldering past him as she made for the arena enty gates, her Earth Kingdom robes billowing in the breeze. "Follow my lead and don't get in the way."

"Tut tut, remember my dear, we have an image to maintain," Lin reminded her, a cheese-eating grin appearing on his face as he followed. Lan-feng harrumphed, put on a pleasant housewife smile, and stopped long enough for Lin to catch up and take her hand in his.

"_**And now, ladies and gentlemen, throw your hands up for your very own home team. Representing the Earth Kingdom, Lin Hayate, the Demon of Ba Sing Se, and Lan-feng, the Blue Phoenix!"**_

* * *

"_There's far too much to take in here  
More to find than can ever be found  
But the sun rolling high  
Through the sapphire sky  
Keeps great and small on the endless round..."_

Kazuma was ready. Psyched. Stoked. Excited. Wound up, energized, thrilled. All his life he'd been training, mastering the sword under Piandao, Firebending under Iroh and Jeong Jeong, and learning the intricacies of the philosophies of the four nations, and now would come the culmination of all those years of sweat and toil. He looked across the arena, at the Earth Kingdom team who were now making their way towards the center of the arena. An Earth Kingdomite and a Fire National, just like his team. Another opportunity for friendship through the martial arts.

This would be great.

"Hey, fire flake," Toph Bei Fong quipped at him, playfully punching his arm as she walked past him into the arena. "We're burning valuable fighting time here. Come on."

"Ladies first," Kazuma replied with an exaggerated bow, following her outside.

"_**And now, let's hear it for the opposing team. Representing the Order of the White Lotus, the team of tomorrow, the great white hope, the embodiment of unity, Kazuma the White Lotus Kid!"**_

"Hey, how come I don't get a badass nickname?" Kazuma complained. "I wanted to be the Sword of the Blue Flame. What gives?" Suddenly, the music changed as well, taking on a series of long, deep, slow _guqin_ notes, gradually joined by a serious and heavy pipa riff and the voice of the Ba Sing Se University Choir. "And what- I did not agree to this!"

"_Has he lost his mind  
Can he see or is he blind  
Can he walk at all  
Or if he moves will he fall"_

"_**And his partner, the greatest earthbender in the world, the end-all of earth-shaking, the be-all of boulder-slamming, the groundbreaking goddess from Gaoling - I give you the five-time and still undefeated Earth Rumble champion, the Blind Bandit herself, Toph Bei Fong!"**_

"Tough luck, fire flake," Toph replied, grinning a bestial grin as she catapulted herself into the arena and punched hard at one of the metal barricades. The metal slab peeled off in strips, forming a spiral pattern that circled above her head as she continued walking, before wrapping itself around her torso, then breaking off into smaller plates that slapped themselves over her limbs and head with audible clangs, culminating in an angry faceplate that slid down and locked into place with a single assertive nod of the head. As assembly finished, encasing her in armor everywhere but the feet so as not to interfere with her earth-sense, Toph Bei Fong stood still and held her fists high in triumph like some sort of diminutive titan holding the world over its shoulders, basking in the shouts and cheers of adoration from the crowds, then looked back at Kazuma. The anger mask on her faceplate raised an eyebrow. "Coming?"

"Stupid backdoor connections," Kazuma grumbled, sprinting after her.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Toph replied as she led the two of them into the arena. "I'm having trouble hearing you over the sound of how awesome I am."

* * *

Lan-feng scoffed privately as Lin kissed her on the cheek, then broke off from her to check the structural integrity of the barricades and stamp experimentally on the earth. She was a prodigy. She was a genius. She was the phoenix reborn. She did not need protection. She only needed a target. Something to point her fire to, and it would die.

"Hello there," Lan-feng heard the other team's primary, the firebender boy call out as he approached her and bowed. "Kazuma of the White Lotus. It's an honor to meet you here. I hope we will learn much from one another."

Is this kid for real?

Out the corner of her eye, she saw the opposing earthbender – Toph, standing slightly offset to her partner – facepalm. It made a clanking sound.

She replied with a blast of flame, carefully controlled such that it burned a brilliant orange, that engulfed half the arena. Including the idiotic White Lotus kid.

Especially the idiotic White Lotus kid.

* * *

"Ha! I like this one," Yunfei laughed from his vantage point in the contestants' box, seeing the "White Lotus Kid" tuck and roll out of the way, continuing until Toph raised an earthen shield for him to hide behind. "She knows what fighting's all about!"

"They're certainly not wasting any time to get things started," Kei agreed.

"_**The White Lotus Kid hits back with a flurry of quick fireballs, but Lan-feng dodges them, while Hayate and the Blind Bandit are hammering each other with rock waves – near miss by the Blind Bandit there. Careful, Hayate, Earth Rumble title holders are nothing to sneeze at."**_

"I thought Earth Rumble was fake?" Brad asked.

"What? No way," Sokka replied, indignant. "I've seen The Boulder and The Hippo fight. And Toph herself. That stuff has to be real!"

"Including the 'Fire Nation Man' who earthbends?" Katara quipped. "And that wasn't even the Fire Nation national anthem he was singing."

"What's Earth Rumble?" Qing asked.

"Ah, the greatest earthbending tournament of all time," Yunfei said, smiling. "The best benders from all over the Earth Kingdom gather to compete for the title belt. It's really something, we know of it even in the Fire Nation. Maybe we should go watch it some time, hey? You, me, the Fire Lady, and the sun-and-stars-of-my-heart?" He turned to look at Ty Lee, surprised to find her staring at the fight with an uncharacteristically serious look on her face. "Ty? Are you alright?"

Ty Lee turned with a start. "Hmm? Oh, no, I'm fine." That seemed to satisfy Yunfei, and he turned back to watching the bout.

* * *

Toph Bei Fong frowned as she pressed against the earth, thighs bulging, shoulders straining. Within the first ten seconds of the fight, Lin Hayate stamped up a wall and bull-rushed her. Never one to avoid a challenge, she'd responded in kind, meeting him head on the way an earthbender was supposed to. And much to the greatest earthbender in the world's surprise, Lin was actually pushing her back, even as she dug in her feet and pushed back with all her might, trying her best to ignore the shouts and cheers coming from the stands assailing her sensitive ears as she slowly but steadily lost ground. The other guy was strong, and she needed every bit of concentration.

"GO TOPH! COME ON, PUSH HARDER! GIVE IT ALL YOU GOT!"

_Not helping, Sokka._

She heard, _felt_ the vibrations that told her the wall was about to shift, a split-second before it suddenly snapped closed on her like a mousetrap, pinning her between two slabs of earth. Fortunately, she'd held out her arms and still had a little room to move, but as she prepared a counter, her sensitive ears picked up the beginnings of a taunt that immediately filled her with ire.

"Heh. Is this it? You call yourself the greatest earthbender in the world-"

_No. This was not happening._

"-but let the Demon of Ba Sing Se tell you something, sister-"

She took a deep breath and stretched back as far as she had room to.

"-You talk about your Earth Rumble championship belt, and your time as the Avatar's earthbending master, and your invention of metalbending, but that doesn't mean a thing to this man -"

Before Lin Hayate could continue, a single stony column shot out of his earth trap and would have nailed him in the chest had he not attempt a redirect that resulted in a glancing blow to the shoulder instead. As he winced from the pain, the entire block exploded into thousands of pieces as Toph Bei Fong broke out like a wolfbat out of Koh's realm.

"Nice try, Hayate, but the only thing the Blind Bandit sells is one-way train tickets back home to cry to mommy." Toph taunted, throwing earth columns and rock chunks his way, listening for any fire blasts from Kazuma and Lan-feng that might be headed towards her. "And that's the bottom line, 'cause the Blind Bandit said so!"

"I take that back," she heard Lin comment as he raised barriers of his own to defend against her strikes. "You're good."

"Don't insult me," she replied, hitting back with a rockslide.

* * *

_This was great._

"Come on, stop trying to hit me and hit me!" Kazuma shouted, the unconscious grin on his face growing bigger and bigger as he ducked and dodged between the Lan-feng's attacks, matching the gradually increasing look of annoyance on hers. Now, at last, he could put his training to use. A jet of flame scorched at his feet, but he was prepared, and he quickly dashed past it with a trigram step, his feet lighting up the path he travelled in the process as the crowd cheered. Another fireball followed, the shot lead to predict where he'd most likely land, but he formed fire whips the size of elephino trunks and swatted it aside as the crowd cheered. At this point, his opponent changed tactics, blitzing right at him, fire daggers in her hands, to which he replied by taking a deep stance, rooting himself to the earth, raising a firewall with a strong uppercut and pushing it towards her with a singular power punch as the crowd cheered.

_This was awesome._

"How do you like that? Lots more where that came from," Kazuma taunted, grinning a little bigger at the last move. Master Jeong Jeong had taught him that one, when he'd had an epiphany on how to control the flames and reduce its appetite for destruction. It had been used to good effect during the liberation of Ba Sing Se, shoving tanks aside instead of melting them, pushing infantry back instead of incinerating them. It was more than a technique, it was the culmination of a man's dream, an atoner's desire, a-

"All right, I have to ask," Lan-feng said crossly as she burst through the wall, the fire daggers in her hand burning bright orange with intensity for an easily missable instant before settling back to a more mundane red after the breakthrough. "How are you doing that?" He quickly began backpedalling as she clenched her fists and punched bursts of fire at him. "I mean, seriously. How are you doing that? Such grand, big, sweeping techniques. Most firebenders reserve those for the coup de grace, yet you're slinging them around like they were smoke puffs."

"With math," Kazuma replied, closing up in defense and backing away."It's ten percent luck, twenty percent skill," he said, taking a stance and chambering his fists. "Fifteen percent concentrated power of-"

"Oh, shut up." Lan-feng snarled, pushing forward with a torrent of flame that Kazuma met with his own, the two streams red initially, brightening to orange, then yellow and finally blue as the firebenders' intensified their efforts, pushing against each other like raging bull rhinos.

_Yes, this was it. Pure unadulterated combat, tit for tat, push for push. Exhilarating, is it not?_

Kazuma frowned. Where was that coming from?

* * *

"Okay, how is he doing that?" Yunfei asked, a perplexed expression on his face as he saw the two firebenders go at it. "Seriously, how is he doing that." He looked one of Mai's Royal Guards. "Attritioning each other with blue fire? That shit gets tiring as hell. How is he not gassed out yet?"

The guard shrugged.

"I'm wondering about that other guy, that 'Demon of Ba Sing Se'," Sokka added, frowning. "I've never seen Toph get pushed so hard." He held a hand to his chin, pondering. "If we had a guy like that in the Gaang, that would certainly have make a lot of things much easier."

"You could say the same about the White Lotus kid, except for the other side," Mai added. "Agni, he's slinging around blue fire like the former princess did. I wonder why I'd never heard of him?"

"Maybe he wasn't a noble," Qing offered through a spoonful of parfait. Mai shook her head.

"The Fire Nation keeps extensive records of everyone, Qing," Mai said. "Especially benders and who they teach. It makes conscription much easier, and firebending masters are paid a commission if their students distinguish themselves in service. Kazuma's old enough to have been taught during the war. And if someone could firebend like that, you bet their teacher would have at least mentioned it."

"White Lotus," Yunfei muttered under his breath. "They-"

"Katara," Ty Lee said suddenly. "Does Lan-Feng...does something feel familiar about her at all to you? Or any of you?" She added, turning to Mai and Sokka.

The Southern Waterbender was taken aback at this. "Uh, no," she said, blinking confusedly. "She doesn't look like anyone I've seen." Mai and Sokka nodded their assent.

"Huh. Okay." That seemed to settle the issue for Ty Lee again.

* * *

Lan-feng growled in annoyance as she twisted away from one of Kazuma's fireblasts, narrowly avoiding singeing her hair in the process. So far Lin was doing a decent job at keeping Toph occupied, but the frigging White Lotus kid was not giving her any openings. He was just hitting too fast and too hard, with no sign of slowing down. More infuriatingly, he was humming the overture to _Love Amongst the Dragons_ while he was at it.

She tried to use maneuver, boxing him in against one of the metal barricades, but he had enough situational awareness and that damn airbending footwork to always get out of the way. She knew from the opening moments of the fight that going against him head-on would be a bad idea. About the only edge she had on him was speed and agility, skills taught to her by someone she used to know. Which was why she was jetting about the arena, limiting her contact with the ground as much as she could, popping off small but intense bursts of flame, yet another skill taught to her by someone she used to know. And sure enough, it was starting to work, the quick fast attacks forcing Kazuma to adopt more orthodox firebending techniques.

Soon an opening appeared. Lan-feng landed, ducked under a fire blast, leaped over a set of rocks, and signed to Lin. She shot of two bursts of fire to either side of Kazuma, forcing him in place while she used the momentum to flip in the air and dropkick a fire blast that forced Kazuma back.

_And now for the clincher._

As she fell, instead of catching herself, Lan-feng used the last of her airborne energy to twist around and send a spinning disc of blue fire right at the one part of Toph that was still exposed.

* * *

"You keep trying these big giant attacks and it's clearly not working. Think it's about time you tried something else?" Toph taunted as she stuffed a wall-rush and hit back at Lin with an earth pincer. She was starting to get her opponent's measure. Toph Bei Fong was the greatest earthbender in the world, but that was a combination of many factors – speed, power, finesse, her ability to "see" the earth and predict what earthbending techniques would be coming her way, metalbending, and many others. As the fight went on, she realized that Lin Hayate was much the same, save that the effort that might have gone into metalbending or some other stat had all been dumped into power and speed. Which may serve him well against others, but not her.

"To the contrary, O delicate lotus, I think it's working quite well," Hayate replied, raising his fist and sending a line of jagged earth rippling towards Toph, smirking at the clearly miffed expression on Toph's face at the little nickname.

"Is that what you think, O Dandy Dancer of Ba Sing Se?" Toph shot back, raising an angled barrier that bisected Lin's attack, kicking up a cascade of dust and shattered rocks in the process.

"The Demon of Ba Sing Se," Lin replied, sending a river of earth rumbling towards her, curving around the earthen shield she'd raised. "And you would do well to remember the name-"

"IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOUR NAME IS!" Toph shouted, as she parted the earth river again, allowing it to flow around her, then raised herself above it as Lin tried to trap her in it. She launched into a drop kick, shooting a drill-shaped mound of earth back that knocked him back several meetings even as he blocked it, kicking up a dust cloud that obscured him from all but herself. "You're going one on one with the Great One! So shut your mouth, know your role, 'cause I'm about to lay a smackdown on your sugar-candied behind!"

In the stands, The Boulder raised an eyebrow and nodded mightily in approval.

The dust soon cleared. Lin laughed. "You're toying with me, Bandit. Not very smart." He punctuated this with a set of earth spikes that popped from the ground, approaching Toph from every direction. Toph growled in annoyance and raised another barrier, feeling the familiar shock shooting up her arms and legs as Lin's spikes impacted against her wall. _This was not right,_ she thought as their bout continued. He had to have known that her style was based on listening for to the earth, looking for weak points, then breaking through with precise, concentrated force. Yet he was slinging mountains and rockslides and other area-of-effect techniques at her like they were pebbles, and showed no sign of tiring. Like he didn't care how much energy expenditure he was using. Almost like he had some limitless fount of power to draw from.

An unsettling conclusion dawned.

"Kazuma, change targets! You take Hayate, and I'll take Lan-feng!"

Suddenly everything went brightly, brilliantly, blindingly white.

Toph fought the urge to yelp as she stumbled about, truly blind for one of the few instances in her life. The iron plates that had protected her fell with the loss of focus due to the pain in her feet, which was also preventing her from gathering up a proper barrier. Something slammed into her gut, and she found herself flying, higher and higher, then lower and lower, while Lin's taunting "this is my yard, Bandit, and don't you forget it" until she hit the safety net surrounding the raised arena platform.

* * *

Lan-feng permitted herself a small measure of pride for that last one. Everything went just as planned, which was to be expected, since it was her plan. The big "NOOOOOO" that tore from White Lotus kid 's lungs was just extra spice on the fire flake, especially since it got him to stop humming the _Love Amongst the Dragons_ theme.

The victory would have tasted sweeter had it not created the most minute of openings, during which Kazuma growled out "I will destroy you" in a strangely deep and garbled rumble and fireblasted her off the edge as well.

_All right, this was bullshit._

* * *

"_**What an upset! In case you just missed it, the Blind Bandit's been ringed out, the feisty firebender Lan-feng brilliantly capitalizing on her weakness, but Team White Lotus's own firebender takes the moment to repay her in kind! The two remaining fighters, Kazuma the White Lotus Kid and Lin the Demon of Ba Sing Se clash at the center of the ring and it is just pandemonium out there!"**_

_This man is a worthy opponent._

Lin Hayate was enjoying this a little too much. Every wall, every rock, every wave he hurled was answered in kind by the same type of construct only made of fire. It had been too long before he'd met someone against whom he could cut loose with everything he had, someone who could face all the power, all the gifts Lin Hayate had at his disposal and take it. They had long past the time for hand-to-hand, Lin having drawn his hammers to meet Kazuma's sword.

"Not bad, firebender," Lin called out as Kazuma's blade looped around his wrist in a classic disarm, forcing him to abandon one of his hammers. He immediately swung hard with the other at Kazuma's sword hand, hoping for the same effect. "Someone trained you well."

_You know you want this._

Kazuma did. Greater and greater bolts of fire loosed from his limbs. He was of the Dragon, by tutelage if not by blood, and he would show his opponent what that meant. Per Jeong Jeong's teachings, Agni's gift was just as much of a curse, capable of mostly destruction, and it must be controlled tightly with discipline as one must hold the reins to a wild rhino in rut lest it spiral out of control and burn everything, burn everyone.

But Lin Hayate could take it. And that was great.

_He taunts you. Crush him for his folly._

"Someone did," Lin heard Kazuma reply while ducking under the hammer strike. "Unbeatable Piandao, for one." The firebender sliced downwards, forcing Lin into a weapon bind. "The Dragon of the West, for another." A breath of fire to the face, causing Lin to backpedal while raising a wall. "The First Deserter," Kazuma added, jetting upwards over the wall, satisfaction and pride swelling inside him. "I owe my teachers many things," Kazuma called out, twirling his sword as he noted Lin's eyes widening, "But this one I just made up!"

_He taunts you. Burn him for his folly._

The sky-iron sword sailed straight for Lin Hayate as he sidestepped while raising his remaining hammer to block, striking with suck force that it sheared the weapon's head clean off, and narrowly missing his arm as it stuck to the ground like a reed in the water. Kazuma grinned a bestial grin as he jetted for Lin, fists aglow with azure flame.

* * *

"_**A mutual disarming, and now they're back to getting up close and personal as Lin tosses Kazuma's sword outside the ring! How much more can they take! Kazuma's kicking up a firestorm to burn the land and boil the sea, but Lin's just giving back as good as he's got with some solid earthbending!**_"

"They're certainly not holding back," Kei noted, watching the bout with a critical eye. Mountains of earth and fire were being slung every which way, neither side really attempting much use of tactics, simply rushing at each other with pure elemental might. She sighed. There was no cleverness here. No set plan to attempt to match one's own advantages against the other's disadvantages or predictions of what the other side might do, as in her own fight against Yunfei. No plans or tactics or trickery, as in Qing's match against Brad. Just hitting with force and blocking with more force when the other guy hit back.

Not that it didn't make a good show, what with the giant explosions and massive rockslides being thrown around, as if Agni and Tudiye had themselves chosen to incarnate onto the mortal plane and settled their differences in the ring of honor.

"By Tengri and Agni, this is nuts," Yunfei marvelled as he tried to make out the shapes of the combatants, straining to peer through the smoke and dust and steam that had since coalesced into a hellish haze, caused by the rising temperatures and the sheer amount of dirt being dished out, clouding the arena as it rose, even as the arena itself descended in elevation as more and more of it was used up by Lin's earthbending.

"Oh dear," Brad gasped. "Do we seriously have to fight _that_?" He could feel the slight shuddering even from up in the contestants box, which told him how much more earth-shaking might Lin was dishing out in the arena. And there was the _noise_, of crunching rock and exploding earth, of searing flame and crackling combustion, the cacophony of interspersed cheers and boos every once in a while when the dust would finally scatter and one could see a flying boulder or streak of blue fire.

"We'll cross the bridge when we get there, Brad," Katara replied, staring while patting her brother on the back. Sokka had been watching in a state of disbelief ever since Toph got knocked out, and the elemental spectacle was only increasing his shock.

The din of explosions thundered throughout the amphitheatre like Tengri Everlasting Skyfather bellowing in anger. Every punch or kick from Kazuma spat forth fire as if Great Agni had arrived for the end times to cast judgment on his subjects, and every stamp or strike from Lin sent the earth quaking and splintering as if Eje All-Nurturing Earthmother had entered the time of her rhythmic red rage. It was, simultaneously, Agni's challenge to the Sun, Tui and La in their first union of passion, Oma raising her namesake city. It was veritable mythical hot-pot, a base of the first Avatar banishing Koh to his realm, a dash of Agni taming the first dragon, embroiled in the raising of new Ba Sing Se, seasoned by great Manitou striking down the dread sea serpent Unhcegila, with a garnish of Songtsan carving the Western Air Temple upon the hanging cliffs.

Lin Hayate and Kazuma of the White Lotus continued their bout, ignoring everything they were hearing coming from the crowds or from Xin Fu, focused only on the thrill of battle.

* * *

_Release me! Let my power fill your limbs!_

Lin Hayate crouched in a ready position, panting. He did not remember being pushed this hard ever in his life. He knew this had to end quickly, for at the rate they were going, it was only a matter of time before the platform they fought on would be destroyed. If his theory about Kazuma was true, rope-a-dope would not work on him, and by Tudiye's left claw, Lin Hayate was _not_ taking a damned _draw_.

_Fool. The _true_ power is here, demon. And there, also. Use it before he does!_

"No," Lin whispered to no one but himself. He was an earthbender. Earthbenders do not wait for a bell to declare them winner. Earthbenders do not back down from opposition. Earthbenders crush their enemies beneath an unrelenting tide. Lin Hayate grit his teeth, spun, and slammed the ground with both fists feeling the earth encase him, compressing it to preserve density, packing on extra for the shoulders, chest, and arms.

"Hiding? Shy? They say you should sing into the wind to get over that," Lin heard Kazuma call from across the arena. The firebender was in a similar situation, panting heavily yet still poised to leap, a small tongue of fire blazing from an upheld palm. The firebender smiled a toothy smile, and his pupils dilated. Lin knew that look, for it was one with which he was intimately familiar. _Battle-lust, from a member of the White Lotus?_

"Please. I'm an earthbender," Lin Hayate growled, tensing up and shifting positions. "I prefer a different way of solving my problems."

"Oh? What is that?" Kazuma replied, mimicking him in stance and posture. His eyes began glowing dimly red, like the last embers of a residual flame.

"I headbutt." With that, Lin Hayate roared and made a mad rush for Kazuma, pitying this fool who was deciding to follow suit by jetting himself forward to meet him. Fire or not, Aspect or not, he could not possibly think that going head to head against an earthbender was a good idea. It was like getting involved in a land war in the Earth Kingdom, or betting against a Dai Li when death is on the l-

The next thing he knew, there was a massive explosion as Kazuma himself seemed embroiled in fire, and the next thing Lin Hayate knew he was flying, way too far from the ground to call it towards him. The only consolation was that Kazuma was doing the same, too dazed from the collision to jet himself back into the ring.

"_**Cross counter! A head-on collision by the White Lotus Kid and the Demon of Ba Sing Se knocks both of them out of the ring. It's a draw, ladies and gentlemen!"**_

* * *

"I was not expecting that," Yunfei said, staring at the more-or-less demolished arena.

"Nor was I," Sokka replied.

"That will be ten pieces of silver. Each," Kei added with a grin as close to everyone in the contestant box groaned and dug into their wallets.

* * *

"Hey, fire flake, how're you feeling?" Kazuma heard Toph say to him as he came to in the infirmary wing.

"Like a herd of komodo rhinos stampeded over my head," he groaned, sitting up. "Did we win? I kind of blacked out when I hit Hayate."

Toph shook her head. "Draw. You and Hayate knocked each other out of the ring at the same time. Hey, Kazuma?

"Yeah?"

"Describe what Lan-feng looks like to me?"

Kazuma paused. "Um, maybe around Katara's height? A little towards the slight side, though she has decent musculature. Long hair. Face is rectangular, prominent cheekbones, somewhat angular chin, but it's kind of flat instead of tipped, you know? Has a darker skin tone than most Fire Nationals, almost like how Water Tribesfolk – oh, wait, that doesn't help, does it?"

"No, it does. Thanks."

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Kazuma's eyes lit up as he saw who it was.

"Dad! Grand Lotus Iroh!"

Master Piandao smiled as he strode towards the infirmary bed and embraced his adopted son. The man had not taken wife ever since he left the army, and when one of the White Lotus's Fire Nation members had died right after the birth of their infant son, it was decided that Piandao would take the child as his ward. Beside him, Royal Uncle Iroh, Dragon of the West, former general of the Fire Nation armies, and proud owner of the Jasmine Dragon tea shop stood smiling.

"That was a great fight out there, Kazuma," Piandao said approvingly. "You've truly absorbed our teachings. Everyone's now seeing it and it's really opening their eyes."

"Indeed. Word on the street is there's already earthbenders and firebenders trying to form mixed bending academies, seeing how they can adapt the others' bending styles into their own. Along with that, you're also seeing benders combine their talents to create businesses. In fact, I just bought a teapot from a firebender-earthbender partnership a few minutes ago," Iroh added, fishing out a box from the bag he carried and opening it. "Isn't it great?" Kazuma peered over to admire the workmanship, but his thoughts were soon interrupted as Iroh continued speaking.

"We do have another reason for coming, though. How did you feel during the match? Feel any emotions? Hear any voices?"

"Uh...kind of sort of not really?" Kazuma said. "Well, there was a-" Just then, there was another knock at the door. "Miss Bei Fong? The room service you ordered," came the voice of an orderly.

"Why don't we discuss this behind closed doors," Piandao said. "As soon as you're feeling better, come meet us at the Jasmine Dragon."

* * *

"Shall we begin phase two of the plan?"

"Now hold on a second. Ouyang Yunfei is still in play here."

"Phase 2 is perfectly capable of working with that gambit."

"No, it's not. Yunfei is a son of Clan Ouyang who's never had the scars of war to mar his ideals. You start this now, it's just going to push him against us."

"Then what are you suggesting?"

"Wait. Wait for the opportune moment. By all means, prepare for phases two through infinity. In the meanwhile, let him set the stage for everything. It is, after all, what he's there for."

"Very well. What of the White Lotus champion and the Demon of Ba Sing Se? What do you make of them?"

"I make that Demon's nickname may be a little more than a nickname, and that the White Lotus Kid may be in the same situation."

"Can your people control them?"

"Of course not. I only _call_ the storm and guide its path. I would never presume to claim _control_ of it."

"You know what I mean."

"One is challenging enough. Two is...more than a handful. Still, we will try."

* * *

"Is everything secure, Lin?"

"No one knows about this place, Lan-feng. Are you ready?"

"You know I hate the travel. Just go."

"Then let us enter the Spirit Realm."

* * *

_**Codex**_

_Spirits  
Subsection: Aspects _

_The Avatar Spirit not the only spirit to reincarnate itself among mortals, though it is the most prominent. Each major spirit – elemental ones such as Agni, Tui, and La, or simply those with sufficient divine power such as Koh, may also reincarnate into the mortal realm, although they do so by releasing fragments of themselves. These "sub-spirits" have over the years been termed "Aspects", for each represents some facet of their parent spirit. _

_Like the Avatars, Aspects are more powerful and more proficient in their native bending art than others of the same level of training. Also like the Avatar, each incarnation of the Aspect must relearn things their predecessor knew, although they may call upon their parent spirit in dire times of need. However, while the purpose of the Avatar is to promote balance and harmony in all its forms, be it between the four nations or between the mortal and spirit worlds, the purpose of Aspects are to promote the growth of its parent spirit. Once the human body of an Aspect dies, its life, its experiences, the entire essence of its existence joins with that of its parent. Agni's Aspect of Life observes the use of fire to build civilizations, and from this Agni develops accordingly. Tudiye's Aspect of Order observes the walls of Ba Sing Se to section off the city into its districts, and Tudiye develops accordingly. So on, and so forth, until the end of days._

_~The Collected Writings of Guru Pathik, from the Order of the White Lotus archives_


	5. Chapter 4: Tales of Ba Sing Se, Part 1

**A/N:** Writing fluff is haaaaaaard…but doable, apparently. This begins the first of several character building/foreshadowing chapters. Also, this is the part where I start begging for reviews, so...come at me bro.

**Chapter 4  
Tales of Ba Sing Se, Part 1**

**oOo The Tale of Lan-feng oOo**

The Spirit Realm. A twisting nether. An unknown immaterium. A negatory image of the mortal world, much as what one would get by laying paper over a textured surface and rubbing ink over it. A place beyond most mortal senses to conceive, where time and space were meaningless, where the very soul of the world resided.

Lan-feng hated it.

"Enjoy your trip, dearest?" she heard Lin Hayate quip in that infuriatingly jaunting and not-a-care-in-the-world way, as was his wont.

"Like a lightning bolt to the chest," Lan-feng replied. She looked around her, noting that they stood in a clearing, in front of a mountain of some sort that was covered in arcane carvings. "Hayate, where in the name of Agni are we? This was nothing like last time."

_IF IT IS HE WHO INHERITS THE GIFT OF FIRE YOU SEARCH FOR, YOU ARE IN THE WRONG PLACE._

Lan-feng winced at the voice – or voices, since the words seemed to be coming from a multitude of them, harmonious despite its many aspects. There was one deep, rumbled with a timbre like the avalanche from the Potala Mountains. One gravelly, rattling with a staccato like ten thousand pebbles rolling down a ridge. One soft, slightly rasping as the night winds of the Si Wong desert that shifted grains of sand upon its current. One sharp, cutting into the air as the narrow jut of the Serpent's Pass bisects the sea. These and many others, far too numerous to be listed, formed a singular voice of the legion that assaulted her ears, emanating from the mountain before her.

"Great Tudiye, this one humbly approaches you," Lin said, kneeling. His voice was different. Lower. Softer. More solemn. Humble, even.

_What gives?_

Lan-feng looked left. Hayate, annoyingly, still fine with it all and kneeling and mumbling something. Lan-feng looked right. Nothing there but a couple of scurrying cavehoppers. Lan-feng looked up. Her eyes widened, and she stifled a gasp.

That was no mountain.

That was a gigantic badgermole, its head the size of the Fire Nation palace, its eyes glowing orbs like the lodes of crystals beneath the old Ba Sing Se catacombs, its teeth stalactites and stalagmites, its chest a cliff wall, its shoulders bearing growths of rock, its claws the length of an Empire-class battleship.

_NOT MANY CAN FIND THEIR WAY HERE. THOSE WHO DO ALWAYS WANT SOMETHING. SPEAK YOUR REQUEST, SON OF THE EARTH, AND LET MIGHTY TUDIYE DECIDE ITS WORTH._

"Great Tudiye, as you know, a tournament has started in Ba Sing Se, celebrating the end of the war that has caused your adherents to suffer so greatly. I was selected to represent the Earth Kingdom. I was fortunate enough to be matched against a firebender the first time around. Yet I found myself evenly matched, even for all my power."

_AND THIS INTERESTS ME WHY?_

"There are other Fire Nation teams, and for them to be chosen, they must be of a similar power level. I ask, Great Tudiye, for power to outmatch them. The ones who wield Agni's gift have done much wrong to us. Might we not take our own pound of flesh back?"

_YOUR GIRLFRIEND OVER THERE GIVES ME DOUBT AS TO THE VERACITY OF YOUR STATED MOTIVES._

"We-" Lin began, but Lan-feng cut him off.

"Watch your tone, spirit," she spat, her eyes ablaze. "Ours is an alliance of convenience, nothing more. I need something from this place, and he needs something here. Once we get what we want, this will all end."

_IS THAT WHAT THEY CALL IT THESE DAYS?_

"Great Tudiye-" Lin began, but the spirit cut him off.

_HAD YOU APPROACHED ME PRIOR, I MIGHT HAVE HUMORED YOUR REQUEST, ARROGANT THOUGH IT MAY BE. AS IT STANDS, THE AVATAR HIMSELF HAS BEEN…WORKING TO CONVINCE ME TO MAKE PEACE WITH MY BROTHER SPIRITS. _

"Great Tudiye, the Fire Nation took my parents from me," Lin said. _Was he pleading? Oh this was priceless. _"And they have done so to too many of your followers. Surely you cannot let that slide on the words of a…a child."

_NOTHING WOULD GRANT ME GREATER PLEASURE THAN TO SMACK THAT TWELVE-POINTED CROWN FROM AGNI'S HEAD FOR ALL THE CRIMES HIS FOLLOWERS HAVE DONE MINE. YET, FOR THE SAKE OF BALANCE, YOU MUST NEEDS BE ON YOUR OWN._

There was a whoosh, a great sucking sound as the badgermole disintegrated into dust and was carried away in the wind.

"Damn it all!" Lin yelled, as he slammed a fist into the ground. Lan-feng looked at him in disgust. _Was that a tear crawling its way down his cheek?_

"Are you done yet?" Lan-feng sneered. "Because I have places to go and spirits to see."

"Shut up!" Lin snarled, clambering up and swinging a meaty fist at her. She quickly backstepped out of range, smirking as no earth columns or boulders came her way. _So that's what it takes to set you off._

"No bending in the Spirit Realm, remember?" Lan-feng taunted. Lin growled and poised himself to tackle her, but suddenly Tudiye's voice interrupted him.

_I KNOW THERE IS THE PRESENCE OF ANOTHER WITHIN YOU, HAYATE. GO TO HIM. HE WILL GIVE YOU THE POWER YOU SEEK._

"Hmph. Called it," Lan-feng quipped.

"Come on. Let's go," Lin spat sullenly, turning towards a massive barren tree that loomed in the distance.

**oOo The Tale of Ty Lee oOo**

_Thump-thump-thump_, the ostrich-horse thundered on, and upon its back Ty Lee half-closed her eyes and threw her hands up, her mind clearing in bliss as she took in the rush of sensation coming at her. The clear blue sky, the crisp spring air, the smells of freshly turned earth, the whoosh of wind rushing past her ears mixed among the rippling of her Kyoshi dress and the steady thumping of giant clawed feet, sending a staccato of jolts up her saddle as she spurred her mount throughout the wall that formerly guarded the Agri-Ring. With the war's end, parts of Ba Sing Se's defenses were becoming demilitarized, and in a bid to raise up the local economy, open to the public as tourist attractions. The Inner Walls were among those – formerly the last bastion of defense during General Iroh's 600-Day Siege of Ba Sing Se, now it was being repurposed into a combination historical museum and scenic trail, allowing visitors a bird-s eye view of daily life among the city's various quarters.

And now she was doing just that, flying over the city's walls, tasting that sweet sweet freedom as she spurred her mount on faster and faster. While tumbling and freewheeling through the air like a jade swallow in flight under her own power was always enjoyable, sometimes Ty Lee just wanted the raw rush of speed that came with riding. Kyoshi Island was too small for that sort of thing, and a big city like Ba Sing Se was too regimented save for a few areas, but the wide expanses of the Xilingol Steppes, just her and the wind upon a sea of grass, underneath the open sky above her…she could get used to that.

"Great, isn't it?" Yunfei call to her from his own mount, riding neck to neck with hers. Ty Lee looked over and raised an eyebrow upon seeing him hop up to stand one-legged atop his saddle, holding his other leg back in the air. The Ouyang clansman let out a whoop as he held on, ignoring the dubious looks of other tourists of lesser equestrian ability, his own steppe riding robes billowing in the wind.

"You could never beat me at that game, Yunfei," Ty Lee called back. She clapped her ostrich-horse on the back, spurring it forward, then hopped on her own saddle and leaped forward into an aerial, landing back on the saddle and gripping the reins again before the ostrich-horse could wonder at the loss of weight on its back. She laughed as she looked back and saw Yunfei go all goggle-eyed and nearly fall off his own mount, then tugged the reins to allow him to catch back up. "Are you all right?" She asked once Yunfei had sidled next to her, panting and smiling.

"Yeah," he breathed out, laughing. "Boy, does this take me back. Remember that time when you visited us for the first time, and neither of us knew the real reason? And we just had fun, riding around, and it was just in time for the _naadam_ festival too?"

"I remember that time you took me rhino-tipping with your friends and we almost died," Ty Lee replied, smirking.

"Oh, yeah, and you lasted longer than any of us," Yunfei said with a laugh. He pulled his ostrich-horse to a stop, and nudged it to an overlook, pausing to admire the view of a water garden and point it out to Ty Lee. "To this day Cousin Bataar swears you are one of Skyfather Tengri's wild swan-geese reborn."

"Well, maybe I am," she replied back, pausing as she surveying the vista before her. The city really was magnificent, tens of thousands of domiciles and shops and other buildings of all shapes and sizes, networked and interconnected like the tunnels of a buzzard-wasp nest, hustling and bustling in a way that not even the Fire Nation capital could match, despite the Earth Kingdom's lower level of technology. She could imagine the millions of voices, tailors, blacksmiths, potters, crofters, tanners, cobblers, woodcutters, tradesmen of all sorts hawking their wares; pitchforks, seed drills, rice flails, oxcarts, hoes, rakes, pumps, plows, draft animals, farmers everywhere tending their fields; teams of earthbenders and non-benders laboring on the endless post-war reconstruction projects, mothers and daughters making their way through the butcher shops and the produce markets; the din of the monorails, the shrill whistles of the city guard, even the sometimes unspeakable dealings that took place in the shadows of the city's walls in the lower rings. Once she had come to this city as a conqueror, again she had come as an ambassador of sorts, but for now she was a tourist and enjoying every second of it.

"That honestly would not surprise me as well," Yunfei replied, nudging his mount closer to hers so that they were almost touching. "Always knew there was something special about you."

_Oh, is this when it's happening?_

"Oh? Care to be a little more specific?" Ty Lee said back. _Choose your next words well._

"Yeah," Yunfei said, looking, or – gazing? Yep, he was definitely gazing into her eyes. "You and your sisters, all seven of you came, and when I first set eyes on you it was like looking at a set of fire lilies, y'all were so pretty," he begin._ Hmph. You're on dangerous ground, Ouyang Yunfei, but go on…_ "But you don't see fire lilies too often on the steppes, because the clime's too mercurial for them to last long. Instead you get the snow lotus –less bright, less vivid, but resilient and strong, and to our people at least, that's beauty too. You can take a snow lotus anywhere and it'll take root and sprout and bloom. And the longer y'all stayed, the less I was looking much at your sisters, because I was too busy being all gobsmacked at how you were taking to our ways like a dragon takes to a volcano, riding like you were born in the saddle, ducking and weaving through that rhino herd like a sparrow-butterfly, or just flying through the air doing them acrobatics like you do. When I first saw you, I couldn't tell you apart from your sisters, but soon I knew. You're one of a kind, Ty Lee. A snow lotus blossom among a bouquet of fire lilies."

_All right, that was the right answer._

She leaned in, closer to him, and closed her eyes. She felt his hands stroking her hair, somewhat uncertainly, taking care not to disrupt the Kyoshi hairpins she wore. She felt a rise in heat, less so her own, and more from him. She felt his lips upon hers, a little rough, a little brusque, a little unpracticed.

But that may change in time.

**oOo The Tale of the Guardsman oOo**

Crowd to the left, attention drawn to the juggler. Potential threats – zero. Crowd to the right, waiting in line for noodles. Potential threats – zero. Trash can, big enough to hide a man – nope, just passed by, potential threats – zero. Lamp post, heavy enough to support a sharpshooter – none present. The eyes of Mifune, sergeant of the Royal Guards, scanned everywhere, scouring his surroundings for potential trouble spots, ranking everyone in order of lethality. Some might deem such measures overly anile, but a Royal Guard's watch never ends, and Mifune was charged with protecting the Fire Lady herself. He dared not falter in his duty.

A soft hand pressed into his own gloved one, and he took it, smiling at its owner. Hanako of the Kyoshi Warriors smiled back at him. Together they walked, hand in hand, guarding their charges, for Brad, Qing, Sokka, Katara, as well as Katara's gaggle of students were with Mai as they strolled around the night market, his deep crimson armor contrasting nicely against her dark green battle dress. Mifune had known her ever since the assassination attempt on the Fire Lord, when a detachment of Kyoshi Warriors had offered their services to bolster the standard Imperial Family security. Mifune had resented it then, viewing the whole deal as an unwelcome outside intrusion into his traditional duties. However, as time went on, and the two groups were able to socialize and exchange tips and experiences, the Kyoshi Warriors grew on him, one of their number in particular.

"This place is bustling," Hanako said, her own large hazel eyes scanning the plaza with Mifune. "And huge. Kyoshi Island may as well be an anthill compared to here."

"Ba Sing Se is indeed magnificent," Mifune replied. "Though from what you describe, Kyoshi Island seems like it would hold charms of its own. I know of one, at least, standing beside me." A slight peachy color rose through Hanako's white makeup. The pair of bodyguards continued their patrol, searching for signs of unrest wherever they may be, picking up strings of conversation while they were at it.

"So, how are things with Zuko?" He heard Katara asked as the party of many walked through the plaza. "I hope the pressures of being the Fire Lord aren't…taxing him too much?"

"Yeah, I'd hate for him to change from the fun and perky Zuko we all know and love to some restless brooder obsessing over his duty," Sokka added, taking a bite out of the twenty-or-so meat sticks that he somehow kept hold in each hand. "Mmm, that fire-spice powder really adds a good kick to the lamb-chicken." A second passed. "All right, and now I am discovering that it adds a wee tad too much kick," he amended as his face grew red and sweat began dripping from his brow. "Oh, look, Ember Islander ice cream. I'll join you later! Just holler if you want something!"

Mifune stifled a chuckle, partly at Sokka's inability to handle a little inferno pepper, partly at the fact that Ember Island ice cream was even here in the first place. He continued scanning, noting in addition to possible dangers the many changes in the plaza from the last time he visited Ba Sing Se as part of the victory procession following Princess Azula's takeover of the city. Back then, there was fear and trepidation as the Fire Nationals marched through. Now, it was an entirely different world, reminding him of nothing more than the new history textbooks and their obligatory paragraphs introducing the interconnectedness of the post-war world. An enterprising firebender yelled and waved down customers from behind his cart, boasting such goods as Komodo sausage shipped from the Xilingol Steppes of the Fire Nation, diced with sea prunes (or were they ocean kumquats?), stuffed in a ball of sticky-rice, flavored with a nice spread of Earth Kingdom pig-chicken oil, wrapped in lotus leaves from the Foggy Swamp, steamed on an Omashu-made bamboo steamer, sold by an enterprising firebender. A Water Tribesman/Earth Kingdomite couple did the same, hawking noodles made of ground seaweed, mixed with buckwheat flour and a little water and sesame oil into a single ball, pulled in the old Ba Sing Se manner not dissimilar to an opera performer twirling his ribbons, before being boiled to consistency in a pot filled boiled with all kinds of offal thankfully hidden under a consistent layer of spices and pepper oil. An acrobat troupe, immigrants who crossed over on steel ships out of Coal Harbor, performed a myriad of feats of balance and agility, the small pot in front of them slowly but steadily filling with Water Tribe beads, Earth Kingdom coins, and Fire Nation pentagons.

_This was a strange new world indeed_. But if it brought Hanako into his life, he was fine with that.

"It's been busy, but his fire is still burning brightly. No need for concern on that end," Mai said with a slight smile. "How about you and your waterbender class?"

"Going good. Brad's my best student so far, but the others each also have their own unique specialties. On the whole, they're doing quite well," Katara replied. Mifune thought he detected an undertone of a _now that the Fire Nation isn't coming along and kidnapping them_ hidden under that last sentence. He paid it no mind. The past was the past, and from what he had gathered, Katara was very about celebrating the future. Much like Brad was doing at a strongman stand, hefting a comically-sized hammer in an attempt to break the previous record and win a stuffed platypus-bear. "Although after facing you and Qing, I see I'm going to have to step up my teaching. She's really good, and you two have flawless teamwork," she added. A mischievous grin then appeared on her face. "The North may have won this round, but this tournament has just started. Who knows what the following rounds may have in store?"

"Who indeed," Mai agreed. Mifune saw her glance at Qing, noting the girl chatting up some of Katara's students. Some of whom were distinctly female. _Strange, _Mifune thought.

Suddenly, there were angry shouts, and Mifune's head snapped towards the direction of the sound like a springing mousetrap. His eyes narrowed as his eyes saw the telltale sign of a crowd gathering to watch a fight, and his ears picked up the words "matchstick" and "ashmaker" coming in the same direction.

"Come on, we've got to separate them," Katara said, running towards the scene while pulling two water whips from the skins at her belt. Brad and Qing quickly followed, while his Fire Lady looked around for something to climb on to and found it in the form of a lamp post. The other Royal Guard/Kyoshi Warrior pair that walked with him motioned for him to go towards the crowd while they stayed with the Fire Lady. Mifune nodded and immediately began sprinting, Hanako by his side.

A brace of flechettes whizzed by over head, and Mifune heard the yelp of someone being pinned to the ground. Katara, meanwhile, was forcing her way through the crowd, pushing and creating a corridor with her water whips. From there, Mifune saw what was happening, and Hanako gasped. Two Fire Nationals were on the ground, being set upon by a group of seven Earth Kingdomites – now five, as Mai's flechettes and Qing's flurry of ice spears separated two of their number. The shouts were louder now, even as Brad froze another ruffian to the ground.

"How does it feel to be on the receiving end, matchstick?"

"After all your lousy country did, you sure got a lot of guts to show your face around here, you dirty son of an eelhound."

"Not so tough without your army, are you? Hey, defend yourselves! I thought you matchsticks were supposed to be these tough warrior guys or something!"

Mifune growled as he ran closer and a series of water pulses from Katara knocked more of the ruffians away. He jumped forward and launched a bow-stance punch that set a jet of flames towards the two remaining aggressors, noting that the fact they dodged instead of blocked marked them as nonbenders. Hanako, meanwhile, took the momentary disruption to dive through the crowds, slide right up to the two distracted Earth Kingdomites, and tie them up using her waist sash.

"Here, let me help you up," he head Katara say as she extended a hand, which the two Fire Nationals took. "Why did they attack you?"

"We…we were ex-soldiers, see. Down on our luck. That guy over there, he saw our unit brands as we paid for our food," one answered. Katara glared at the gaggle of incapacitated Earth Kingdomites.

"The war is over," she admonished. "Shame on you-"

"No," one of the Earth Kingdomites snarled, the one that Qing had encased in an icicle cage. "They invade our country, kill our people, take our land, cause us over a century of pain, and now we're supposed to make nice with them? Screw that." The man spat. "I got no grudge against Fire Nation coming here to make a living, but men like them?" He pointed towards the two Fire Nationals. "How many people have they oppressed? I'll never forgive them."

Mifune looked back at Hanako, who shrugged. "For what it's worth," she whispered. "We've put aside our grudge against your Fire Lady."

"Then you're a fool. We have peace now," Mifune heard Mai call out. "We have peace would you want to throw it away for more war?"

"Speak for yourself, wench," the man spat, both figuratively and literally, and Mifune immediately clamped down on his choler that rose at the insult to his Fire Lady. "You and that princess of yours, you ruined this city."

Law enforcement had arrived by this point, clamping earthen gloves on the perpetrators and leading them away. Mifuno felt the Earth Kingomite's condemning gaze upon him as he joined his fellows.

"The Fire Nation took everything away from me. Some might be content to let things be, but I will never forgive and never forget. For everything you've done, ashmaker. One day your pig-chickens will come home to roost."

**oOo The Tale of Kazuma oOo**

"All right, I'm heading out. Bye dad!" Kazuma called out as he descended the stairs from the attic of the Jasmine Dragon tea shop. His own Spirit Realm journey had taken the better part of an hour, during which everything checked out, and so he was now out and about to see the sights and sounds of the big city. A small smile crept up Kazuma's face. After a lifetime being cooped up and hidden away, he was finally going to see the world. He strode over the tea shop's gate threshold, sword across his back, map of Ba Sing Se in one hand, cup of pineapple green tea with tapioca balls in the other, and took the first of a thousand confident steps, eager to begin an experience to remember, a journey of a lifetime.

"Ow!"

Someone holding something soft collided with him, and they went down in a tangle of limbs.

"Oh heaven I'm so sorry!" Kazuma stammered as he quickly got back to his feet. "Here, let me help you up," he added, offering a hand to the girl he'd bumped into.

"Thanks," she groaned, taking his hand in one of her own while rubbing at her hip with the other. "That'll teach me to watch where I'm going…"

"No, it's all my fault," Kazuma said, scratching his head. "Here, let me help you with…" He looked around, expecting to see a bolt of silk or a pack of pelts or something that would have been the soft item she was holding, reddening as he realized what he had actually bumped into.

"Is something the matter?" she asked him.

"Uh…it's nothing. I'm really sorry," Kazuma added sheepishly, noting the girl's physical features. Round of face, with large luminous eyes, a cat smile, and a set of braided dark brown pigtails. Dark green dress with tan trim. He quickly bent down to pick up his map, though his drink had unfortunately spilled onto the street.

"No, I should be the one apologizing." She smiled at him, and he smiled back awkwardly, a light blush creeping up his face. "Especially since I made you spill your tea. Come on in, I'll get you another one." Kazuma felt her take his hand and lead him in. "It's okay, I have an employee discount-"

"Back so soon, Kazuma?" Iroh called out as the pair re-entered the Jasmine Dragon.

"I'm ready to start my shift, Iroh!" the girl called out cheerfully. "Oh, and this gentleman needs a cup of, uh, what would you like-" she turned to Kazuma, whose brows now knitted in befuddlement. "Is something the matter?" she asked.

"Kazuma, how do you know Jin?" Iroh asked.

_What._

"…I bumped into her when I stepped into the street," Kazuma said, scratching his head. "Hi, I'm Kazuma," he said, turning to Jin and giving her a little wave. "How do you know her, Grand Lotus Iroh?"

"I work here," Jin said, grabbing a cup and rinsing it before adding a sprinkle of tea leaves and steeping it in boiling water. "I started a couple months ago, in fact. And now," she said, glancing at Iroh as she waited for the tea to change color, "it's my turn – how do you know my general manager, Kazuma?"

"Uh, well..." Kazuma took a seat, and thought for a minute. The half-bemused, half-bewildered expression on his face shifted to one of pensive loss. "My parents died when I was born. Grand Lotus Iroh found me. He was a family friend, and he left me in the care of the sword master Piandao."

"Oh. I'm so sorry," Jin said, handing him his tea. "I didn't mean to go and pry into something like that-"

"Don't worry about it, you couldn't have known, and I'm mostly over it besides," Kazuma said, looking up with a wry grin on his face. "Thanks for the tea," he added, blowing on the edge of his cup before sipping at it. "Huh, it's really good. Is that…orange peel and star anise I taste?"

"Yup! My own blend," Jin said, nodding and smiling. "Say, I noticed you had a map of Ba Sing Se there. Going on a stroll?"

"Yep!" Kazuma nodded enthusiastically. "Say, you're a local, maybe you could show me around some time?"

"Well, I'm pretty busy tonight, but maybe in a couple of days? Here's my mailing address, you can contact me there or send a hawk or just through Iroh."

**oOo The Tale of Kei oOo**

The top of the clock tower was a wonderful place, Kei Mallari concluded.

It was big. Tall. Jutted into the sky like a drill to pierce the heavens. And best of all, secluded and offered a great vantage point from which to observe the entire city of Ba Sing Se.

It was close to night, and visibility would be terrible soon, but for now there was still time. She scoped around with her spyglass, noting points, places, and people of interest. An Earth Kingdom merchant haggling over prices with Fire Nationals. Her own partner, happily alternating between bites of meat stick and shaved ice. A firebender trying to look discreet as he and several others struggled with a set of crates near a tunnel entrance. The other Water Tribesmen and the Fire Lady, in heated discussion of some sort. Ty Lee and the steppes clansman, sharing a sickeningly sweet kiss that reminded her of a drunken bet with Sokka over how many marshmallows each of them could fit in their mouths. A Water Tribesman who carried a bamboo staff around, talking to an Ouyang clansman. The White Lotus kid and some random girl strolling through the Ba Sing Se zoo. A tanned woman who owned a day spa, situated next to a noodle shop, both of which were frequented by a bespectacled boy of college-age. The Blind Bandit and Xin Fu, walking side by side and chatting it up.

Suddenly, something else caught Kei's eye, a glistening glimmer atop a city parapet that she recognized as the sun reflecting on a spyglass lens. She quickly turned her spyglass at this new person, who hit upon the same realization and did likewise, and growled as she realized she recognized the woman, tall, slender, and pale-skinned, with long dark hair held together by a skull ornament and darker makeup to match. The woman smiled, winked, and mouthed the words "meet me at the Fragrant Lotus" before unhooking the whip at her waist, latching on to a ledge with it, and swinging out of sight.

It was a short walk to the Fragrant Lotus, that oh-so-very reputable establishment in a tucked-away corner in the Lower Ring, where both drinks and serving-girl attire were half-off. As soon as Kei walked in, she spied the woman from earlier right away, in the midst of arm-wrestling a bare-chested Fire National with a bowl cut.

"Well, well, look who decided to join us!" the woman called out as she slammed her opponent's hand to the table. "It's the, what are you calling yourself, the 'Glaive Dancer' now? I do have to say it's catchier than your old nickname." She handed a cup to Kei. "Drink?"

"I know you didn't come here to make small talk, Jun," Kei snarled back, taking the cup and downing the contents in a single gulp. It burned as it went down, but she ignored it. "Why are you here?"

"Business, Sister Kei," Jun laughed. "Come on, why else would I be here?"

"Stay out of this, Jun. This is my city."

"Oh? Scuttlebutt says the Ouyangs are bringing in a lot of bounties from the lower ring and the outskirts. Seems hardly fair that you let them do their thing but forbid me from doing mine. All those good times we had working together and now you won't even let an old friend make her livelihood?" Jun said, faux-hurt in her voice as she took a swig from her drink bowl. "How's a girl supposed to earn her next meal?"

"Hmph. I am the Glaive Dancer. I do not concern myself with such small fry. The Ouyangs are welcome to them. You are welcome to them. Hell, even Hom is welcome to them. But that's not why you're here, is it?" Kei's fingers tapped on the shaft of her glaive.

"Oh, relax, Sister Kei. I'm not here to fight."

"Then what are you here for?"

"Information gathering, mostly. And a warning." Jun's voice took on a serious tinge. "Be careful, Sister Kei. I'll respect your rules, but I can't say the same for everyone else. We know the Glaive Dancer is warden of wherever she sets foot, but there are some pretty lucrative opportunities here, and cash makes heroes of men regardless of their actual strength."

"Is that all?" Kei said, getting up and tossing a few coins on the table as Jun nodded. "I don't need you to tell me that, Jun," she scoffed. "But if the others are getting restless, then by all means send word down the grapevine. While I still stand, everyone here is under my watch. And should any decide to try me, they'll find out just how much of a murderous bitch I can be."

**oOo The Tale of Ouyang oOo**

Ouyang Yunteng's head hurt.

The backrubs from his wife helped. As did the cordyceps tea that he took, three cups in the morning, three cups at night. And the drawings from his little daughter too, scrawls of watercolor just beginning to take shape. It was good to know that there were good things to look forward to in life. Something to make every day one more memory to be cherished, and not one more step closer to the grave.

All of that was counterbalanced by the financial statements that he found himself poring over every night. Running the Ba Sing Se branch of the Ironworks was no box of fire flakes. Yunteng had been dispatched there following the then-Princess Azula's capture of Ba Sing Se. After all, a newly taken city required men to hold it, and all those men would require arms and armor and materiel. The best arms and armor and materiel, and Clan Ouyang only made the best.

Well, technically that was not quite true. They made mass-produced stuff too, especially for the rank and file, and it was actually a more efficient use of the Clan's unique firebending specialization in terms of revenue generated per man-hour, but "Only the best, for the best; Ouyang Ironworks" was what was stamped upon their products.

When he was first assigned here, business was booming, and every day the forges would belch forth smoke and fire as if a dragon was slumbering in Ba Sing Se. The operation soon expanded, manufacturing tanks and catapults and ballistae and other manner of war machines as well, along with more specialized equipment – Dragontusks, Ozai-Organs, Plate-piercers, they'd even got the beginnings of a zeppelin assembly line started. Then the war ended, and all the big expensive stuff got banned, and all the lucrative contracts from the military-industrial complex stopped. Oh, there was still business, but you didn't need Ouyang workmanship to beat a lump of iron into a plow. You didn't need a master smith who could make a blade to cut Agni himself to make nails that only needed to affix a lump of wood to another lump of wood. And you certainly didn't need a catapult for...pretty much anything that wasn't war. Yunteng sighed. He'd recalled one of Cousin Leng's stories, about how he'd been dispatched once to silence a dissident. He remembered how he and Leng had laughed over a skin-pouch of _kumiss_ about the recovered writings of that dissident, how so much military production would eventually lead to economic ruin as effort that could have gone towards building things instead got funneled towards building military equipment.

That dissident's theory was looking a lot less silly the more Yunteng looked at the general ledgers, and the statement of cash flows, and the profit and loss statements, and the balance sheets, and statement of retained earnings, and a host of other sheets that almost made him miss the front lines.

Oh, there was still plenty of cash left from the wartime stockpiles, both in specie and in bonds and promissory notes from the Fire Nation government, but that was money that would not grow over time, while every expenditure sapped the pot. Three hundred taels of silver outflow from cash to wages payable. Thirty taels from receivable in depreciation on steam tank assembly line. Another one hundred fifty for Clan dividends. One hundred from accounts receivable to cash for sales in equipment for heads of new Dai Li. Thirty from raw materials to accounts receivable for equipment order by an enterprising cabbage merchant. Fifty from inventory to cash for an order of Dragontusks from the Glaive Dancer – at least that little bit of marketing was working. Yunteng's fingers flew over his abacus beads, which clicked and clacked as the feet of a skittering Si Wong desert scarab as he crunched the numbers. A small but heavy sack thumped on to his desk, leaving metallic clinks in its wake and causing him to look up.

"Two hundred into cash from bounty work," the nonchalant voice of Ouyang Shijie said as he smiled that winning smile of his. The older man brushed a tendril of hair from his face, adjusted the collar of his breastplate, and took a swig from a waterskin tied around his belt. "You work too hard, cousin mine."

"I do what I must," Yunteng replied. "How'd the slay go?"

"Twelve against four. Hardly sporting," Shijie replied, shrugging. "Giving them another ten men would make things more equitable."

"Heh. What were they?"

"Small warband, a few deserters from the Fire Nation garrison plus the rest common bandits, bird-dogging a village cluster in the Agri-Ring," Shijie replied, grinning a toothy grin. "Tuotuo, Narantsetseg Leng and myself made short work of them."

Yunteng raised an eyebrow. "Leng? First Sword Leng?"

"The one and only," Shijie said, nodding. "I went to pick him up from the harbor last night and the first thing he asked me was whether there was murder to be made." The Ouyang heir chuckled. "Good old Leng, always up for a scrap. That's how he gets so good, though." He peered down at Yunteng's entries. "How are the accounts, cousin?"

"Well, your bounties combined with some other revenue means we can pay everyone's salaries and stipends for this month. Thank Tengri for small mercies, I suppose," Yunteng replied. "And that publicity we're getting from the tournament should lead to some higher sales too. Don't know what we're going to do when this all ends, though. People are going to need master-crafted weapons less and less."

"Hmm. Well, you've been doing a great job here so far, Yunteng," Shijie said, clapping his cousin on the shoulder. "Just keep up the good work. I'm going to head out and catch up with Leng, but I'll keep your concerns in mind." He smiled again, then turned to leave. "Don't worry, cousin mine, I'll think of something. I always do."

**oOo The Tale of Lin oOo**

_Damn it all, Lan-feng. I've done so much for you already, why must you be this way?_

The inside of the hollowed out mangrove somehow managed to be darker and dingier than Lin Hayate remembered. Apparently, even Spirit Realm swamps smelled horrible, as if herds of elephinos had wandered off there to die and rot, and when he first tried to speak to Lan-feng he nearly gagged on the fumes. Every once in a while, the pulsating fungal growths on the tree's bark would burst, sending pungent fluid oozing down, and Lin's ears would pick up a shrill rattling noise, and despite knowing it was coming, the sound never failed to send a corkscrew sensation down his spine.

Lin Hayate ignored all this as he sat in the lotus position, knowing it was all meant to break his concentration and coax a facial reaction out of him. Which would be very bad in this neck of the spiritual woods.

"Oh, come on Lin, don't be so sullen. You know I didn't mean what I said," Lan-feng cooed from beside him. "It's just…sometimes you can be so nonchalant about everything, you know? I'm sorry about your parents, I really am."

_Not. Helping._

_AH, MY LITTLE DEMON AND HIS CONSORT. HOW ARE WE THIS FINE EVENING?_

Segments and clawed legs. That's what Lin saw. Segments and clawed legs and more segments and clawed legs coiled around him and Lan-feng in an endless loop that seemed to go on forever, finally ended in a single clamshell-like orifice, at the center of sat a single white face with red lips and gray eye markings.

"Koh, I would have words with you," Lin and Lan-feng said at nearly the same time.

_AWW, YOU EVEN FINISH EACH OTHER'S SENTENCES. IT'S SO CUTE._ The white face immediately shifted to that of a Water Tribe woman with long wavy hair, swaying this way and that to alternate staring at Lin and Lan-feng. _SHE DID THAT TOO, YOU KNOW. SO WHAT ARE YOU HERE FOR? COME TO ACCEPT MY GIFT AT LAST, DEMON? _The spirit changed its face again, this time to an blue oni mask as it turned to Lan-feng. _HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR NEW FORM, LITTLE BIRD?_

"We are not here to make small talk, spirit," Lan-feng said. "We have questions. You will answer them." The spirit tilted its head in confusion, then reared up and laughed, a harsh grating sound that echoed against the tree hollow as it coiled around the pair of humans. "Oh, and that 'glamour' is stupid. No one in the world looks like that," Lan-feng answered. "I look ridiculous."

_MY, MY, AREN'T YOU A CHEEKY ONE. AND PLUCKY, TOO. BE CAREFUL, DEMON. I CAN FORESEE WHO WEARS THE BRITCHES IN THIS COUPLE-_

"Enough! You know very well who I am, spirit. You will speak to me with respect or face the consequences!"

Lin stifled a gasp and clenched his jaw tight as Koh shifted its face into a disturbing blank and threw itself towards Lan-feng, its claws poised to strike at the woman. _No!_ he wanted to shout, as he grabbed on to one of the spirit's claws in a vain attempt to stop the impossible. _He was baiting you!_ His heart lurched as he prepared for the worst, especially as Koh stopped suddenly and reared up, throwing Lin against a wall. The earthbender grunted as he hit the ground, taking care not to grimace.

_HEH. WELL PLAYED, GIRLCHILD. WHAT KNOWLEDGE DO YOU DESIRE?_

"What just happened?" Lin asked, picking himself from off the ground and dusting himself off.

"You should know by now, Lin," Lan-feng deadpanned as she turned to face him, her face still an impassive blank slate even as she yelled the next sentence. "My Pai Sho face is legendary! It shames the stones and outlasts the trees!" She turned back to the Koh. "You claimed that this tournament would hold the key to what I seek, spirit. Yet the first round has ended, I've seen all the competitors, and none of them have demonstrated anything out of the ordinary."

_PATIENCE, LITTLE BIRD. YOU WILL DISCOVER THE WINGS YOU SEEK IN TIME._

Lin would have raised an eyebrow if he were anywhere else. Koh's face shifted to a bald and bearded Fire National as the spirit reared up and sniffed at something over the horizon. The grating sound echoed again, mixed with a metallic howl.

_VERY SOON, IF ALL GOES JUST AS PLANNED._

Koh turned back to face Lin, a bemused smile on its face.

_SO, DEMON. WHAT IS IT YOU REQUIRE?_

Lin sighed. No way to do this blunt.

"I need more power," he said. The spirit laughed, a deep rattle that sounded like metal being filed.

_POWER? YOU WHO SWORE NEVER TO CALL UPON ME? OH, THIS IS RICH._

Lin felt himself draw back ever so slightly as Koh rushed inwards, shifting its face to that of a mandrill, and bared its teeth at him. _Dammit, Hayate, no weakness!_ Lin thought. He cleared his throat and continued as if discussing the weather.

"I need more power. The Fire Nation representative is strong enough to hold his own against a nonbending team even before using his own bending skills, and the other Fire National is…like myself."

_MY POWER HAS A PRICE, YOU KNOW._

"I know your price, Koh. But know this. The Fire Nation took my parents away from me. And Tudiye has abandoned me. I know what it is to be weak, and I can't have that, not here, not now. Whatever price you have, as long as…as _that_ does not happen again, I will pay."

_HEH. AND WHAT DOES YOUR GIRLFRIEND OVER THERE THINK OF THIS? I CAN'T IMAGINE SHE IS TOO PLEASED ABOUT YOUR FIGHTING THIS WAR FOUR YEARS AFTER IT ENDED. BUT I'M ONLY AN INCORPOREAL SPIRIT, SO MAYBE IT GETS HER HOT FOR ALL I KNOW._

Another mess of emotion hit Lin's chest, and he took a deep breath as he looked over to Lan-feng, who still bore that impassive expression as she examined her nails. "We had a deal, Face-Stealer. I break her out, and you extend my powers."

_OH, NO NO NO, THAT IS NOT HOW I REMEMBER IT._

It took every bit of willpower Lin had to not wince or grimace at the flood of memories assaulting his brain. Fire, fire everywhere. A burnt down cottage, three charred forms inside. The music of battle. The officer, leading a charge, only to be crushed under a rockslide. Tears. Pain. Sorrow. Lonely wandering. Savage blows. A flash of white. Red smears on the ground.

"Equivalent exchange was given," Lin said, gritting his teeth.

_WRONG. YOU WANTED MY POWER AT THAT INSTANT. I PROVIDED MY TERMS, WHICH WERE ALREADY MORE THAN REASONABLE, ESPECIALLY GIVEN HOW YOU HAD FORSAKEN ME THOSE YEARS AGO. EQUIVALENT EXCHANGE HAD BEEN GIVEN THEN, AND ALL YOU HAVE IS BUT STOLEN POWER, GLEANED BY MANIPULATIONS…BUT I BEAR NO GRUDGE, DEMON. WE HAVE COOPERATED BEAUTIFULLY IN THE PAST. WE CAN STILL DO SO NOW._

"Then I have terms as well. We will not 'cooperate beautifully', spirit," Lin said. "I know you. I know the Aspect I hold in my body. I will remain in control, excepting such times as I judge it prudent to let you out."

_YOU? A MORTAL? DICTATE TERMS TO ME? DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH._

"I'm serious, Face-Stealer," Lin said harshly. "Agree to this one condition or the deal is off."

_YOU HAVE MY PROMISE I WILL NOT GIVE YOU ANY TASKS THAT REQUIRE DIRECT INTERVENTION._

"Not good enough. Swear it," Lin hissed through tight lips. "Swear it by all your kind hold sacred."

_BY BENEVOLENT WATER AND STRONG EARTH. BY FIERCE FIRE AND HARMONIOUS AIR. IN THE NAME OF THE AVATAR SPIRIT, THE SPIRITS BEFORE, AND THE SPIRITS AFTER. BY MY MANY FACES I SWEAR, LIN HAYATE, THAT YOU WILL RETAIN CONTROL UNTIL SUCH TIME AS YOU DESIRE MY DIRECT INTERVENTION. AS LONG AS YOU STILL DRAW BREATH, YOU SHALL REMAIN YOU._

"Much better," Lin said, nodding. He looked to Lan-feng. "Anything you need, my dear?"

"No. Come on, let's go. This place gives me the creeps."

Lin allowed himself a small sigh of relief as he and Lan-feng closed their eyes and prepared return to the real world. As Lin's meditation ended, however, one last closing remark from Koh stuck with him.

_WELL BARGAINED AND DONE, DEMON. JUST BE CAREFUL. ACCEPTING TOO MANY BOONS FROM ME TENDS TO BE HAZARDOUS TO THE HEALTH._

oOo

_**Codex**_

_Primary Documents  
Subsection: Personal effects_

_In celebration of the end of the first round of the Harmony Games, and the fourth year of peace after the Great War, the Earth King has invited you to the Jade Jubilee Gala, a gathering of upstanding individuals from all around the world at the Silk Road Grand Hall in Ba Sing Se's Upper Ring. Attached, please find one tickets emblazoned with His Majesty's personal seal, for yourself and your immediate family._

_Please check all weaponry at the gate._

_~Gala Invitation, from scrapbook of Crown Prince Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe_


	6. Chapter 5: Shindig

**A/N:** More worldbuilding/characterization ahead. Parts of the prose is owed to Tony and Kayla's writings in the RP. And this is also the part where you discover my love for Mass Effect and Firefly. A few cultural notes: The Silk Road Grand Hall is based on the histories of the Beijing Summer Palace and the Yuanmingyuan Garden. The song at the beginning is a very well known Chinese folk song.

**Chapter 5  
Shindig**

_Flower of jasmine, fragile and fair  
Flower of jasmine, fragile and fair  
Budding and blooming here and there  
Pure and fragrant all declare  
Let me take you with tender care  
Your sweetness for all to share  
Jasmine fair, oh jasmine fair_

Kazuma's eyes lit up as melodious notes from the Royal Silk-and-Bamboo Orchestra caressed his ears and the glittering grandeur of Silk Road Grand Hall filled his vision. He wasn't sure what astounded him more, the gigantic support columns inlaid with thousands of golden badgermole carvings scattered that appeared at regular intervals and held up the ceiling, the gigantic map of the Earth Kingdom adorned with the founding legends of each city-state intricately painted on top of the ceiling, or the floating three-ringed gyroscope chandelier that hung down from the ceiling and spun smoothly on its axes as it slowly bobbed up and down thanks to the somewhat recently installed Fire Nation steamwork engine, with the ten thousand glowing crystals from the catacombs of old Ba Sing Se that clung to its rings like resting fireflies. Or maybe it was one of the many other wonders greeted his eye, taking his breath away and making him completely forget about the uncomfortably thorough patdown he'd received prior to entering.

"Keep making that face and it'll freeze that way," Piandao said, chuckling as he came from behind Kazuma and clapped a hand on his shoulder while the greeter announced their presence. "All right, son, this is it. I'm needed at the head table with the Earth King and the others. You go and have fun."

"I can come with you," Kazuma offered.

"Not all old people are as an interesting bunch as we are," Piandao replied, shaking his head. "Kazuma…we've had to raise you in secret all your life. It's about time you had some friends your own age. Go on."

Kazuma nodded, then began weaving his way through the crowds, a bounce appearing in his step as the orchestra switched songs. Many of the attendees he saw were older, nobles or merchants of some sort, and many of the younger guests were their children. Kazuma wasn't quite sure about trying to start up small talk with them. He scanned the area, looking past the buffet table featuring small plates from all corners of the world, komodo chicken, seared scallops, tempura cauliflower, confit quail legs, spiced rhino terrine – _all right, calm down, Kazuma, your stomach can wait – was that a chocolate fountain?_ His eyes soon settled on a pair of attendees who he was sure he could talk to.

"Hey there," Kazuma called out, approaching the pair with a plate full of chocolate-covered strawberries. "Lin Hayate and Lan-feng, right?" The earthbender and the firebender stared at him. "I'm Kazuma, we fought at the last match? I didn't get a chance to visit you when our match ended-"

"What do you want, firebender?" Lin interrupted.

"Uh, just here to congratulate you, that's all," Kazuma said, taken aback. "You two are really good. Where'd you learn to bend like that?"

"My father taught me," Lin replied, tersely spitting out each word like they were grape seeds, confusing Kazuma even more. _What was the deal with this guy?_ Lin turned to leave, but Lan-feng caught his sleeve.

"Lin, be nice," Lan-feng said. She turned and smiled at Kazuma. "Please forgive my beloved here, Kazuma of the White Lotus. The war took his parents from him, and you accidentally…unearthed an old scar there."

"Oh. I'm sorry," Kazuma replied. _Dammit, how do I fix this?_ A look of sadness flashing upon his face. "For what it's worth…I may be a firebender, but I was always raised to believe in the balance in the four nations. If I win my next match, I'll dedicate it to your family's memory."

Lin grunted. Lan-feng elbowed him. "I appreciate that, Kazuma," the earthbender replied. He took a strawberry from Kazuma's offered plate and ate it.

"So…how about you?" Kazuma asked as he turned to Lan-feng. "You're really good too. Where did you learn from? And how did you two meet?"

"I was always…talented," Lan-feng replied with a wry grin. "Tell me, Kazuma…in the Fire Nation, do they know of Clan Quyuan?" Kazuma stared blankly, to which Lan-feng sighed with regret. "I…I see."

"Lan-feng, we don't know of them, but if you are comfortable with it then I would like to learn," Kazuma quickly stammered. _Please, Agni, don't mess this one up. I've come so close. _It hurt him to see the sadness in Lan-feng's golden-brown eyes, and the story of her own family was clearly important to her. "When this tournament is over I'll go back to the Fire Nation and make sure everyone knows it."

"Very well," Lan-feng said. She paused to wipe a few strands of stray hair from her face, then took a deep breath. "We are descended from one of the Fire Sages on the Capital Fire Temple centuries ago, who decided he had enough of the monastic life and returned to being a layman. Our clan's holdings were not large, but due to our unique beginnings, we occupied a special niche as a go-between for the Avatar and the Fire Lord." Lan-feng smiled a warm smile that accentuated her cheekbones and formed a tiny crinkle at the corner of her eyes. "It was my great-grandfather who notified Avatar Roku of his identity. And it was he who helped tutor the then-Prince Sozin in our traditions." The smile quickly faded, however, as she recounted what came next. "Then everything changed when _Fire Lord_ Sozin started his war. My great-grandfather spoke out against it, and for that he was stripped of his lands and titles, and all mention of him stricken from the archives. In protest he went into self-imposed exile, and so here we are. Wandering, lost, taking up a new home here for we cannot return to our homes again."

"I'm sorry," Kazuma said. "Well, the current Fire Lord helped the Avatar bring peace into the world, and the Grand Lotus is also the Royal Uncle. Maybe I can talk to Iroh and bring it to his attention?"

"No, it's fine," Lan-feng said, shaking her head and smiling sadly. "There's no need for this. I'm the last one of our clan, you see, and it will be an empty house and an empty title besides. But that is very nice of you." She looked away for a second. "Sorry, I need to go see a friend over there. Maybe we'll chat another day?"

Kazuma waved stared as the couple left, lost in his own thoughts. He looked over elsewhere, seeing clusters of green, blue, and red. Four nations sans the Air Nomads, yet another example of the scar his people had burnt into the world.

Kazuma shook his head and sighed.

_How could my own people have gone so wrong?_

* * *

Constable Zhui Feng of the City Watch hummed along to the familiar Earth Kingdom folk tune as he stood his post by the entrance of the Silk Road Grand Hall. Tonight was the night of the Jade Jubilee Gala, a commemoration of the end of the great war, a celebration first round of the Harmony Games, and a key opportunity for everyone who was anyone in Ba Sing Se to hobnob with each other. The hall was packed with guests, though more were still filtering in, and it was the job of Zhui Feng and his five hundred fellow watchmen to keep them all safe. He reflexively flexed his fingers, feeling the comforting weight of his stone gloves as a couple dressed in shimmering green-and-gold silk handed him their tickets. A young thin boy, dressed in the gloomiest black save for the sigil of the Bei Fong Metalbending Academy sewn on to his shoulder, sighed as he stood up from his stool, closed his eyes, and stomped on the ground.

"They're good," he said. Zhui Feng raised an eyebrow and picked up a long thin magnetic strip from its hanger on the wall beside him. He passed it over the couple, then waved them past once he felt no changes in attractive force.

"What's the point of having us around if you're just going to do that anyway?" The youngster asked as he sighed and sat back down.

"I do this in case you missed something. You do that in case I missed something," Zhui Feng replied. "The more checks we have, the safer everyone is." He leaned closer to the boy. "Now, I'm curious. Are you actually detecting anything, or are you just waving everyone along?"

The boy raised an eyebrow and snapped his fingers, causing a twitch from the metal chain cuffs attached to Zhui Feng's belt.

"Does that answer your question?"

"Greatly."

The next few groups of people were clean and were followed by the Fire Lady and her entourage. Zhui Feng nodded in respect as he and the gloomy boy checked her and her guards. Fire Lady, clear. Qing, clear. Stoic firebender, clear. Firebender with a goofy grin holding hands with the Kyoshi Warrior, clear. Kyoshi Warrior…the gloomy boy did his thing on and tilted his head, frowning in confusion.

"Uh, Zhui Feng? You might want to check her dress pocket."

The constable ran his magnetic strip over the Kyoshi Warrior and frowned as it bent. "Problem, officer?" The woman asked with a wide grin.

"Ma'am, if you please?" Zhui Feng asked.

"Really, officer?" The Kyoshi Warrior fumbled beneath her dress and pulled out a set of fans. "I'll have you know this is a ceremonial item of my people and an inseparable part of our culture."

"Ma'am, these unfold to have a fifty-centimeter serrated edge,"

"You let my dear firebender in."

"Well, I can't exactly confiscate bending, now can I?"

"Yeah, who do you think he is, the Avatar?" The boy had chosen at this time to jump in. The Kyoshi Warrior looked at the pair of them, looked at the rest of her group, rolled her eyes, and handed her fans to Zhui Feng.

"You benders are all ableist!"

* * *

Kazuma wandered around the room in a funk. He just wasn't clicking with the people he was trying to talk to. Most of the Earth Kingdom youngsters were too concerned with modern fashions and trends to mesh well with someone trained in bending and martial arts like himself, and most of the Fire Nationals were just a little too overly bellicose for his taste. He had winced when someone who introduced himself as the heir of Clan Murong expressed his desire for Kazuma to "beat the next guy like a lump of iron," and quickly excused himself, only to have the next person he talked to turn out to be a pleasant girl who worked at a healing clinic in the Middle Ring and bore a nasty burn scar on her leg from a firebender attack.

Just then, he spied a familiar face and quickly made his way over.

"Jin!" He called enthusiastically.

She was carrying a large tray full of assorted teas when she was startled by his voice. The tea spilled all over her patrons, who looked horrified at the prospect of ruined silks. Jin looked horrified as well, and apologized profusely, but fortunately Brad had appeared on the scene and quickly bent away the tea before anyone's dress robes could be permanently stained. After a final round of apologies, Jin quickly grabbed Kazuma's hand and led him away.

"Kazuma! Don't startle me like that!"

"Sorry," Kazuma replied sheepishly. "I didn't think that was going to happen."

"You just cost me what would have been a week's worth of tips, you know," Jin said, a wistful look on her face. Kazuma stared in horror until she broke into a smile and added, "that was a joke." Jin looked back at the serving tables. "So…anything I can get you?"

Kazuma looked around, seeing and hearing that the orchestra was now switching songs, transitioning into a quick and upbeat piece, heavy with strings, that reminded him of nothing more than the quick staccato of horse hooves around a racetrack. He took a deep breath and tried out a line he heard one of the Earth Kingdom dandies use.

"Would my lady grant the favor of a dance?"

Jin reddened.

"I'm…kind of still working, Kazuma." She glanced around. "And they're shouting for more drinks, so I really need to get back to them…"

_Oh. Right. Forgot about that._

"But I'm free tomorrow night if you want to…you know, do an activity?"

"Yes! I'd like that," Kazuma replied, a little too excitedly. Jin laughed.

"Great! I'll see you then, Kazuma."

"Mm-hmm." Kazuma waved as Jin quickly returned to her duties. _Back to square one,_ the firebenderthought as he turned to Brad. "So…I watched your match. You have a lot of power for your age."

"You think so? Too bad we lost though…" Brad replied.

"Master Iroh taught me that a warrior must treat occurrences of victory and defeat as grains of rice in the bowl," Kazuma said, smiling at the young waterbender. "Don't get too hung up on it."

"Thanks Kazuma."

"You know, Brad, I've always been wondering…how did you come by your name? It doesn't sound like any name I've heard."

"My parents always have had a strange sense of humor," Brad replied with a smirk.

"Any chance they'd come to watch you?"

The smirk disappeared.

"They died in a Fire Nation raid."

_Oh. _Another wave of guilt hit Kazuma. "I'm sorry_." Agni's oath_, _I am so tired of saying that_.

* * *

Tonight was going to be a good night, Yunfei thought. No reason, just a feeling.

Ty Lee had been warming to him ever since that gallop along the Agri-Ring's walls, and his love-star was rising by the minute since then. It only got better once he was able to work shared experiences from childhood into conversations, gotten her re-involved in riding again, as well as the occasional physical sparring session. Ty Lee was just as much of an action girl as he remembered, which again was good as well as to be expected – the Fire Nation was not like those unenlightened savages in the Earth Kingdom or the Water Tribes and had no use for purely decorative noblewomen.

Yunfei mentally kicked himself at that last thought. Ty Lee didn't like him thinking like that. And Sokka…was a real credit to his tribe. Yunfei didn't expect to be able to get friendly with a White Lotus, but anyone who could go cup for cup on _kumiss_ with him was good people in his books.

"Well, yeah, the broadsword's good for on a horse," the Water Tribesman slurred as the two continued their discussion, "But on foot, you want something with a bit more finesse. That's where the straightsword comes in."

"Koh take your little darning needles," Yunfei slurred back. "Better something strong and fierce that'll take your enemy's head in a single stroke. A manly weapon, you know?"

"The straightsword's the gentle_man_ of weapons."

"Yeah, well if you're going off that line of thinking, then the broadsword's the soldier, the staff's the grandfather, and the spear's the king. And between the four, I'll place my bets on the soldier."

"How much? I never got to cross blades with you in our match. Head down to the White Lotus camp, then we'll see whether the soldier beats the gentleman."

"Is that how it is? Twenty silvers."

"Thirty."

"You're on. More _kumiss_?"

"Hell yeah. Pour more stuff in the…the thing more stuff goes in. What's in it again?"

"Fermented mare's milk, infused with a few nice drops of rhino blood. Really gets your system going, eh?"

"Yup. You're not half bad, Ouyang."

"And you, sir, are a true bro. Here, cheers."

"To us! And those like us!"

"Damn few of them!"

Meanwhile, Kei and Ty Lee looked onward at their respective companions and shook their heads.

"Boys," Kei quipped, rolling her eyes. "Not an ounce of class."

"They're much more manageable this way though," Ty Lee replied, sipping her stem-glass of sherry. "You don't even have to hit their pressure points to get them to follow you. As long as you have someone to do the lifting, that is."

The orchestra changed again, to a quick riding song that sent Ty Lee's ears perking up. Yunfei saw her bound over to him and take his hand. Next thing he knew, a contingency he had never planned for hit him like a diving condor-eagle.

_Oh, Tengri no._

"Ooh! I love this song!" Ty Lee exclaimed as she took Yunfei's hand. "Come on, let's hit the floor!" Excitement turned to confusion when Yunfei did not move, as if his feet were made of lead.

"Ty Lee…" Yunfei said, a mournful expression on his face. "I don't know how to dance. I…" _This sucked._ Here was a chance to continue to build meaningful interpersonal relationship with his snow lotus, and he did not know how to do it at all. "I graduated two years before those changes the Avatar wanted got put in…"

"Oh…" Ty Lee pursed her lips and thought for a second before whirling back to Kei. "Kei, you're a dancer."

Kei raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Sifu Kei, impart upon me your dancing ways please?" Before Ty Lee could speak, Yunfei had knelt down in front of the gypsy and began kowtowing. Kei stifled a small chuckle before motioning for Yunfei to get up after the ninth kowtow.

"Of course, young apprentice," she announced, with all the gravitas and ham of a grandmaster in her craft about to dispense infinite wisdom upon the younger generation, "I am always ready and willing to teach others to dance."

"Ha!" Sokka guffawed at this. "Teach? More like dictate." Kei cast him a wry glance.

"Don't listen to this whiner. I used partner dancing as a form of training once and he holds a grudge for eternity."

"You yelled a lot."

"You weren't listening."

"It is known that a strict master produces skilled disciples, and a bamboo rod produces dutiful offspring," Yunfei interjected, holding out his hands. "Sifu Kei, I will endure this."

"Oh, don't let him scare you," Kei laughed. "Dance is supposed to be relaxful. Sokka, why don't you take the future Mrs. Ouyang over there for a couple turns? See if some of those steps managed to get through that 'wolf-mat' on your head." A concerned glance shot out from Yunfei's eyes as the Water Tribesman took Ty Lee's hand and led her to the floor, but it disappeared when Kei took his own.

"Alright, first things first," the gypsy said, adopting a serious face. "Left hand holding my right. Right hand on the small of my back. Lower – ah, too low, save that for Ty Lee. Straighten your back, like your firebending – yes, like that. Now, you're the guy, so you're going to be leading. I know you steppe people have your own music traditions, so tap the beat on my back? Yes, you have it. All right, movement. You will always lead with your left foot. Songs at this tempo, you're going want to take a quick-quick-slow-slow. You got all that?" Yunfei nodded slowly, but his eyes were still a little glazed over. Kei shrugged. "Anyways, ready when you are. Lead on, lover boy."

_Quick-quick slow, slow. Quick-quick slow, slow._ As he moved with the music under Kei's tutelage, Yunfei felt a sense of calmness and peace float over him.

_This was really strangely comfortable, _he thought.

* * *

The fragrant scent of Dragonwell tea simmered up Piandao's nostrils as moon-ivy vines on a wall, lightly sweet mixing among a tinge of bitter in a somewhat clichéd metaphor for life. The Order of the White Lotus was expected at these functions, due to their role in liberating Ba Sing Se and their dedication to the ideals of balance between the Four Nations. And so it was that he was here, enjoying tea and talking politics with ambassadors all over, assuring Earth Kingdom dignitaries of the Fire Nation's dedication to peace, illuminating Fire Nation officials on the benefits of diversity, discussing the merits of gender equality with Northern Water Tribesmen.

"Dad?"

Piandao turned to find Kazuma looking back at him. The boy had a sort of sour expression on his face, and he carried an uncharacteristic light slump in his posture.

"Is something the matter, Kazuma?"

"Dad…" Kazuma looked around. "The Fire Nation…we've hurt a lot of people, haven't we?"

Piandao paused.

"Yes," he replied. "What brought this on?"

"I've been talking to everyone, and they're just…I don't know. They've all been good and nice, but all I can think of is how much we've hurt them. Why did we do it, dad? Why did we start the war?"

"It's…a hard question," Piandao replied, sighing. "One with no easy answers. Kazuma, you know that I used to be in the army." Kazuma nodded. "And Grand Lotus Iroh commanded the expeditionary force that broke through the outer wall of this city." Another nod. "To be honest…so much history was lost or simply rewritten that no one really knows. All we can say for certain is that one day, Fire Lord Sozin decided it was best if everyone would live as the Fire Nation did, and thus decided to export our culture."

"But why would he think that? You and the other masters, you all taught me that the world needs balance and diversity. Why would Sozin break that balance?"

"We were experiencing a period of great prosperity at the time, Kazuma. It is easy to see what you accomplished and attribute that to your own innate goodness, while seeing what others fail to accomplish and attribute it to their own innate failures." Piandao sighed again. "Kazuma, our nation has hurt this world greatly. But that's all in the past, and it is to the future we must look. You are a firebender. It is up to you, just as it is up to the Ouyang representative, to show this world what the Fire Nation could become."

"I understand. Thanks, dad. I won't let you down."

* * *

The song ended, and Yunteng spun his wife one more time before leaning forward in a hold as she clung to his neck. He smiled, stared into those luminous green eyes, and planted a light peck on her lips before pulling her back up to wait for the next song. Things may be hectic, but in between dances he was making occasional sales. Nothing too big; a sword for an officer of the wall, ceremonial spears for a magistrate's guards, he'd even gotten General How of the Council of Five to order a new set of Stormlord-pattern armor for the annual military parade, though he had to turn down the subsequent offer of a contract to build airships for the Earth Kingdom armed forces.

And in between sales, he got to have this one night with his jade maiden.

"Yunteng!"

Yunteng turned and bowed his head in deference to Ouyang Shijie, who radiated with regal bearing in his dress robes of shimmering crimson silk embossed with gold trim, his belt of tanned mongoose-dragon hide adorned with fire-ferret tails, his boots shined as though they were polished obsidian, and the pelt of an adolescent sky-wolf that hung from his shoulders. Shijie smiled that personable smile of his and clapped Yunteng on the shoulder, then scooted back to make way for an older bearded Earth Kingdom man who wore green silks and a turban atop his head.

"Cousin mine, I have someone for you to meet," Shijie said. "Allow me to introduce Lau Tak-Wah. He owns a…well, better hear it from his own mouth, eh?"

"Greetings, Hero Yunteng," the Earth Kingdomite said, saluting as Yunteng returned the gesture. "The Young Lord Ouyang here informs me that your Ironworks holds a steam tank production line. Is that true?"

"It's an honor, Old Lord Lau," Yunteng replied. "This is true, though since the war's end, the lines have not been run for some time. What did you have in mind?"

"I own a plantation of some size and renown and have come across some rather sizeable tracts of land," Lau said. "Right now it's prime planting season for food crops – mostly cabbages, but we have daikon and tomato-carrots and the like as well – but because of the war we are still short on manpower and draft animals. But your tanks…"

"You want to use them as tractors," Yunteng said excitedly as realization dawned. Now there was an idea…

"As whats now?"

Yunteng cocked his head in puzzlement, then realized that the Earth Kingdom simply did not have the word for the object. "I understand," he said. "If you like, you can come over to the Ironworks tomorrow. I'll show you the assembly lines."

"Most excellent," the Earth Kingdomite laughed, motioning for a serving girl as he did so. "A toast, esteemed Ouyangs, to a new partnership."

"May it last ten thousand generations," Yunteng replied, smiling at Lau in camaraderie and at Shijie in gratitude.

"Till the mountains no longer grow and the rivers no longer flow," Shijie added. "Cheers!"

* * *

_Stupid, dreary, gaudy hell, _Mai thought as she put forth an empty smile and gently let down the fifteenth person to try and curry favor with the Fire Lady via arranged marriage of future children. _For Agni's sake, I'm not even twenty, can you people really not wait for me to start vomiting before propositioning me like this? _, The fact that this was a proper formal function added to her frustrations, for she was only allowed to glare daggers at annoying people instead of throw them, and the former was a poor substitute for the latters. _And I swear, if I hear another stupid question about how Zuko or I plan on resolving-_

"Fire Lady Mai? Fire Lady Mai, my name is Hawagul bin Kadeer al Urumqi, Ba Sing Se Daily. Might I ask-"

"One. Question." Mai said, glad that her casual monotone easily masked the venom her inner self was sending at the woman reporter who now approached her.

"Of course. The war has ended, yet many deserters of the Fire Nation garrison have settled here in the Earth Kingdom and starting their own bandit fiefdoms, and there is still unrest back in the Fire Nation since the Zhaoka incident that proved the existence of the escaped Princess Azula. How does the Fire Lord plan on settling this?"

"The rebellions in the Fire Nation are mostly started by minor clans who have seen their chances at glory shot down by the peace," Mai replied. "They are of no concern, mostly as my husband has the support of all the major clans, but especially as Clan Ouyang has declared their loyalty to the Dragon Throne. Their own clan-specific firebending is especially useful for apprehending rogue firebenders, and as each rebel clan is brought to compliance, they have also been taking the children to foster, thus allaying attempts at further rebellion . As for the bandits in the Earth Kingdoms, surely an upstanding journalist like yourself is aware of the bounties the Fire Nation places on deserters who evade the Fire Lord's justice?"

"Is it wise to grant Clan Ouyang such power? Especially since my understanding of this 'fostering' system basically means they have child hostages to assure compliance from rebel clans?" Hawagul asked. "Also, are you saying from the Fire Nation garrisons really should be left to the domain of private bounty hunters?"

"I am saying that if I said yes, you would probably print an article twisting my words into Fire Nation apathy, and if I said no, you would probably print an article twisting my words into promoting more direct intervention by the Fire Nation in other countries' affairs," Mai said. "Also, that's more than one question. Know this - Clan Ouyang has been vital in post-war peacekeeping operations, and you may find the likelihood of obtaining a follow-up interview greatly diminished if I read tomorrow's paper and see unsubstantiated malignment of the Dragon Throne's allies." Before the reporter could answer, Mai quickly turned away to look for Qing or Ty Lee. She saw the latter dancing with Sokka while Yunfei took awkward steps led by the gypsy, noticed two of her guards nod approvingly, and took a detour over to them.

"Mifune, Hanako," she said, greeting the pair. "I hope the task of guarding me isn't what's preventing the two of you are enjoying yourselves?"

"Not at all, Fire Lady," Mifune replied, glancing over at a timekeeping candle. "In fact, any minute now, Shuwen and Haruhi will be here to relieve us."

"Then we'll tear up that dance floor and show Ty Lee and that Ouyang how it's really done," Hanako added.

"Now that I would love to see," Mai replied with a slight smile. "You've been doing good work. I appreciate it. Carry on."

"A Royal Guard's duty never ends," Mifune answered, as Mai strode over to where Qing was chatting with Katara.

"Hey Mai," Qing said, her face lighting up at seeing her friend and mentor. "Katara was just telling me about her waterbending class. She's actually inviting us to train with them tomorrow."

"Or a later day," Katara added, motioning towards her brother, who was now taking shots of…something with a group of Northern Water Tribesmen. "Depending entirely on how long this night goes."

"Katara," Mai said suddenly. "Pakku is your grandfather, right?"

"Uh, yeah," Katara replied, taken aback. "Speaking of whom, that bending Qing was using doesn't seem like anything I've seen Gramp-Gramp do. Is it something new?"

_Uh…do you not know?_ Mai was somewhat confused. "I taught her that," the Fire Lady said.

"Wait, what? But you're not a waterbender," Katara pointed out, confused.

"Qing?" Mai called out.

"Yes?"

"Did Pakku teach you that waterbending you were using?"

"Uh…" An awkward look appeared on Qing's face as she debated the right answer. On one hand, she did not want to say anything that would reflect negatively on her homeland, on her forefathers, and on her teacher. On the other, she owed so much to Mai, this woman with the strength of a raging fire inside her. "Master Pakku taught me waterbending, yes," she answered. "When he was away on White Lotus business, his eldest students took over."

Katara looked back at Mai, who sighed.

"How much were you taught by your own?" Mai asked.

"We were taught the breathing exercises, and the basics. We were going to move on to the 24-step form after that, once we'd all mastered it, but…" Qing answered, her voice wavering.

"Go on," Mai said. "I know it's hard for you, but go on."

"Mai…" Qing said, almost pleadingly.

"You're upsetting her," Katara said. "She clearly doesn't want to talk about it."

"And you don't think there might be a reason why she doesn't want to talk about it? I think you need to hear this. You were the one who put her in this position, after all," Mai replied.

"Now what's that supposed to mean?" Katara shot back, a little cross. "Choose your next words wisely. Zuko is a good friend, but I didn't like it when he tried to set my boyfriend on fire back on Yu Dao, so I don't think he'd like if it either if I froze his girlfriend to a wall."

"Do you really not understand?" Mai said tiredly, as if explaining everything to this naïve little girl who grew up in the tail-end of the world was too much of a chore. "You showed up at the Northern Water Tribe. You fought Pakku and showed him women can bend too. And after the war was over, you went and made them accept girls into the waterbending class and left as soon as they said yes. Did you really think they were going to accept an outsider turning a deeply ingrained part of their culture upside down? Katara, I'm a Fire National. We know how that game is played. We've been playing it for the better part of a century, and it still doesn't work all the time. Now do you want to know what happened or not?"

Katara stared blankly.

"Lady Katara, I just want you to know that everything you've done for us is greatly appreciated in the Northern Water Tribe," Qing said. "Really. You've opened doors where there weren't even hinges before. Really, it's great, it really is." She looked at the faces of the two older women, one her mentor, the other her hero, and sighed as she saw the silent _yes, but …?_ that both their countenances signified. "They didn't like teaching us," Qing said, looking downwards at her feet. "And the boys didn't like having us in class. Well, a few of them did, but…not as equals."

"I met Qing on a diplomatic mission. After that whole mess with Zhaoka and the waterbending spirits," Mai said. "As you may know by now, the Fire Nation had always held its stance on gender equality as proof of its cultural superiority. Seeing you fight alongside the Avatar was, thinking back, one of first things that made me wonder if we were factually wrong." She looked back at Qing, who now looked at the ground, wringing her hands. "Qing, you did nothing wrong," she said, walking over to her protégé and placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder before looking back at Katara. "So I went to the North Pole, and I saw that we were not as wrong as I'd have liked. And so I taught her a different way to fight, a shortcut that would even the odds against those with more training and more experience and little interest in giving up those advantages."

Katara was silent for a minute. Then she spoke.

"Excuse me. I'm going to need a word with Master Pakku."

* * *

_Happy fluffy glittering heaven,_ Ty Lee thought as she sat down and waited for Yunfei to come back with more drinks. Her feet ached between Sokka's wild leading and Yunfei's…suboptimal steps. The Ouyang's dancing could definitely use improvement, but she could see that he was trying, and that was something.

"Miss Ty Lee?"

Ty Lee turned her head to the source of the greeting, a firebender leaning against the arm of her seat.

"Oh, hey there. Kazuma, right?" she said. "Nice silks."

"Thanks," the firebender answered, his aura flaring and then receding as he reddened and smoothed the jet black robe, taking care around the embroidered red dragon that reared up over its left breast. "Your, uh, your dress is pretty too."

"Why, thank you," Ty Lee replied, smiling. It _was_ a nice dress, combining the greens of her Kyoshi Warrior identity with the bright red of her Fire Nation heritage. The firebender's aura flared again. _Strange._ "So what brings you to this corner of the party? I'd say it's my irresistible charm, but that's a little too arrogant, I think."

"You, ah, you are very pretty. Clan Ouyang is fortunate to welcome you into their gates," Kazuma said, stumbling a bit in his words as he looked away, over to…a serving girl? His aura now shifted from hues of crimson to a shade of magenta. _Interesting…_

"They're businesspeople. They know a good thing when they see it," Ty Lee interjected. She opened her mouth to say something else, but was suddenly cut off by a flash of angry red, oppressive in its intensity.

"What in the blue hell do you think you're doing?" Yunfei spat, and at first Ty Lee was confused as to why he was being so uncharacteristically choleric, until it became clear that she was not the object of his ire as he shouldered past and shoved Kazuma aside. "Get out."

"Whoa, no need to get hands-on now," Kazuma replied, backing away and holding his hands up. His nose wrinkled at the smell of alcohol on Yunfei's breath. "What's up?"

"You understand the words coming out of my mouth? Get out."

"Did I cause offense?"

"You gonna leave?"

"Not until I know what your problem is," Kazuma said, frowning. "An apology for shoving me would also be nice."

"Fine. Then we're leaving. Come on." Ty Lee saw Yunfei grab for her wrist, and felt an emotion she had not felt in ages.

"Yunfei!" Ty Lee shouted, slapping his hand away. "Stop being rude."

"Yeah, what's your problem, anyways? I didn't do anything to you," Kazuma added.

"I don't have to explain myself to you, Lotus," Yunfei spat. A crowd was starting to form, but he ignored it.

"Then explain to me," Ty Lee said, crossing her arms. "Because right now you're acting like a total jerk."

Yunfei looked at her and Kazuma and sighed in exasperation. "You're right, Ty Lee, that was kind of out of nowhere." The Ouyang turned to Kazuma, staring him in the eyes. "You want to know what it is, Kazuma? I don't take kindly to traitors."

"Wait, what?" Kazuma replied, confused at first, but then realization dawned. "Dude, are you serious? Yunfei, what we were doing was destroying the balance. It was wrong. Don't tell me you believe that propaganda about how we were making the world better."

Ty Lee looked around and noticed the orchestra was no longer playing, and the absence of background music was in turn drawing more ears towards the two boys' argument. _Not good, _she thought.

"See that waterbender, Qing over there? She was the first female waterbender the Northern Water Tribe ever produced. Before that, the women weren't even allowed to learn waterbending to do anything other than heal. Are they really better off like that? Or look at this city's rail system. They've had, what, millennia? And they still can't think of anything better than having people pull everyone around? Can you tell me they're better off without something like the networks of steel that connect the Fire Nation?"

"If they don't want it, then who died and gave you the right to force it on them?"

"You see a man who's going the wrong way trying to get somewhere. Don't you stop to give him directions?"

"Yeah, but I wouldn't punch him in the face if he doesn't take my advice," Kazuma said. "That's just barbaric."

"Guys, calm down, you're drawing a crowd," Ty Lee hissed.

"All right, it's not a perfect metaphor, I admit that," Yunfei said. "But don't you go around pretending you were doing the Fire Nation any favors. My father died to breach the walls of Ba Sing Se during Royal Uncle Iroh's 600-day siege, and my sister lost an arm in the Omashu Rebellion. Don't you tell me their sacrifices were for nothing and expect me to accept that as a good thing."

"Well, I'm sorry about your loss, but that's all in the past. I'm sure your father was a good man, but even the best of us serve wrong causes sometimes. Look at Grand Lotus Iroh or Master Piandao or Master Jeong Jeong. Maybe if fate was kinder, your father might even have come to the same conclusions they did."

"Fuck you," Yunfei snarled. "You look Fire Nation, but you're no son of Agni, else you'd understand. 'My country, in her intercourse with other nations, may she always be in the right, but my country, right or wrong.'"

"Okay, that's hella stupid. That's like saying 'my mother, drunk or sober'. Clearly one's preferable to the other."

'You know what? Powerful as you are, I'm glad you're fighting for the White Lotus and not the Fire Nation. I sure as hell don't want my country represented by a spineless apologetic raised by a flock of -"

"I've had enough of your petulant warmongering."

Everything happened in front of Ty Lee as if in slow motion. Kazuma, teeth clenched, fist clenched harder, aimed right at Yunfei's face. Yunfei, still sneering, already backpedaling, hands brought up to deflect the punch and strike back.

_Stupid boys and their stupid pigheadedness._

She darted between them, sliding first under Kazuma's swing, her knuckles darting across his arm as a dragonfly skims the surface of a pond, then turning to land three quick strikes in succession to Yunfei's chest, stopping his counter and knocking him back a few steps. She quickly veered back to Kazuma, kicking out at his shoulder to stop his momentum while leaning down and neutralizing Yunfei's follow-up kick. As she tucked and rolled out, the only sound behind her was the thud of two falling firebenders.

"I'm sorry," Ty Lee said to the various lords and ladies who had gathered. "My fiancé has had a bit too much to drink. I assure you that that was just the rice wine and the _kumiss_ and the barley whiskey talking. Would one of you give me a hand? Yunfei's kind of heavy."

* * *

"Ahh…what happened?" Yunfei groaned as he woke up, sore all over. "I didn't have that much to drink, did I?"

"You had enough to make an idiot of yourself," came the stern voice of Yunteng. "You have got to watch that mouth of yours, little bro. I had a deal with an Earth Kingdom plantation owner and that little outburst of yours nearly broke it."

"I…I'm sorry, Yunteng."

"No worries. Shijie and I smoothed it over. But really, watch what you say, especially since you're in the public eye. Thank Tengri and Agni that Ty Lee paralyzed you when she did. You were drawing quite the crowd with your little argument."

"I will." Yunfei looked around. "Where's Ty Lee?"

"I sent her home with your sister-in-law," Yunteng replied. "She was…not pleased with you, little bro."

"Sorry, Yunteng. It's just…dad. And sis. You know?"

"Being hostile to the White Lotus isn't going to bring him back, Yunfei. And sis has gotten on with her life. I think it's about time you did too."

Yunfei grunted.

"I know my nation has done you wrong, but it is my hope that we can put these things behind us. I promise you, that by my two hands, I will set things right."

_What?_ Yunfei looked to the source of the sound and saw that it was the dais upon which stood the various guests of honor, the highest of the Earth Kingdom nobility…and Kazuma, who was now addressing the crowd, along with Shijie, to his surprise.

"Well said, White Lotus," Shijie added. "Friends, you all know Clan Ouyang well. I have heard what we are called in the shadows. Merchants of death. Dogs of war. Suppliers to the charnel house. Providers for crows. I would merely like to state, for the record, that certain statements by individuals of our clan notwithstanding, that we too are dedicated to this new era of peace. For why else would we throw all of our influence behind Fire Lord Zuko? Especially when the former princess is still out and about and commands loyalty from a considerable portion of Fire Nation clans, either openly or in secret? Why else do we continue our service as the Fire Nation's watchdogs, even as demobilization continues?

My friends, I know some of you have heard the outburst from my dear cousin, and I must ask your forgiveness. He, like myself, and like many of you, has lost loved ones to the war, and in his grief his words were ill-chosen. I have an amendment to make to his closing remarks.

'My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right.'

This you have as a promise from Ouyang Shijie, heir to Clan Ouyang."

* * *

The night eventually ended, and as ranks of officials and dignitaries filed out of the Silk Road Grand Hall, Mifune silently took up his post by Mai and Qing. Now was a particularly sensitive time, as everyone was now getting their weapons back, and drunkards with swords was not nearly as winning of a combination as the theater plays suggested. Fortunately, everyone else's guards had the same idea, doing their best to prevent anything was getting out of hand, and the five hundred City Watch agents were of no small assistance in that area. His eyes scanned the alleyways and rooftops as he and his charges made their way towards the transportation line. With such a high concentration of important people in such a small area, caution was more necessary than ever.

The way home was uneventful, but still he kept careful watch as he helped Mai out of the palanquin. Out of the corner of his eye, a spark danced.

_A mere twinkling star,_ a part of his mind concluded.

A very small part of his mind that was immediately overruled by the more rational parts.

"Take cover!" Mifune shouted as he darted forth and placed himself between Mai and the spark, which had now coalesced into a single stream of twisting energies that streaked toward him. He planted his feet on the ground, took a stance, extended his pointer and middle fingers and recalled the lessons the Fire Lord had personally given his cohort before they set out across the Great Ocean.

The lightning blast hit him before he could summon up his chi to redirect it. He roared as the cackling energies danced all over his body, overloading nerves, frying muscles, bursting his heart. In his last moments, he heard Hanako scream his name as she flung a set of throwing needles toward the source of the blast, then attempt to run over to him before being held back by one of her sisters, warning her about residual charge that may fry her too.

_Just one more moment with you…_

Mifune last thoughts were of the house they would never build, the children they would never have, but it was more akin to a final accounting, rather than regrets.

For what regrets could a Royal Guard have in his last moments, knowing that he did the duty his Fire Lord tasked of him, holding the line and dying standing?

* * *

_**Codex**_

_Earth Kingdom  
Subsection: Silk Road Grand Hall_

_First built during the reign of the Ninth Earth King, the Silk Road Great Hall, originally known as the Garden of Nurtured Harmony, has served a summer palace for the Earth Kingdom's royal family ever since. Starting out as a classic garden in the southeastern Earth Kingdom style, each Earth King has subsequently added their own alterations to it, be they groves of artificial mountains shaped like lions, manmade lakes large enough to host naval exercises, a massive yacht made entirely of stone, an Avatar temple to be used solely by the royal family, a forest of scholar rocks, or a set of bronze fountains cast in the image of the zodiac that would spout on the hour surrounding a pond filled with lotus blossoms._

_During the Fire Nation occupation, much of the treasures were looted, including the heads of the bronze fountains. Since the end of the war, seven have been returned, with two more heads on display at the Fire Nation Capital Museum. The whereabouts of the remaining three are unknown._

_~The Complete Works of the Hundred Sciences, 52__nd__ edition, Ba Sing Se University Press_


	7. Chapter 6: Damage Control

**A/N**: This and the next chapter will finish the setting up of world and characters, as well as "bridge" between the events of AtLA and Korra. New chapters will come far less frequently now, as I have a very busy work project and very little time to write. The next one will be fairly quick however due to it originally being part of this one before I separated it due to length.

**Chapter 6****  
****Damage Control**

_Wake up in the morning feeling like Wang Fire. Got my silk and my steel and now I'm soaring higher. Before I leave, rinse my teeth with a bottle of sake-_

Ouyang Yunfei was drunk off his ass. It was the only reason that song was stuck in his head, as well as the only reason that he was in, of all establishments, a shady little eatery in the Sandbender Quarter of the Lower Ring, with his hair disheveled, stubble unshaven, and bags under his eyes. Well, perhaps not the only reason, but Yunfei didn't want to think about that right now. Thus, instead he was here, trying to drink his worries off his mind.

"You know, you people, you're alright. Don't know why everyone doesn't like you," he slurred, flipping a silver coin onto the table and reaching out with an empty bowl. "And you all drink real man drinks. More of that, what did you call it, lion's milk?"

"Coming, _sayed_Ouyang," a young busboy called out, skittering towards Yunfei with bottle in hand. As soon as he set it down, however, two shadows appeared in front of him. One beckoned him away, and the boy quickly scampered off, taking cover behind the countertop. The two newcomers radiated killing intent, and someone as used to being looked down upon as a sandbender usually got good at reading possible threats to their person.

"Damn, pup, you look like shit."

Yunfei jumped at the voice, harsh with gravelly undertones. He turned, slowly, nervously, taking in the slouching form of Ouyang Leng, First Sword of the clan. The man was lean but toned, armored in a suit of dark black scale mail, customized such that his left arm was encased in lobstered steel, and wore his topknot in the Fire Nation outer islander style, loose and flowing like a horse-tail rather than in a tight bun as the main islanders did. On his belted rested a thin straightsword that radiated the coldness of a weapon which had recently drunk its fill of blood. Yunfei tried not to stare at the jade orb inserted into Leng's left eye socket, framed by an unnaturally white scar that ran from brow to cheek, interrupting the Yu Yan tattoo on his face and giving the appearance of a perpetual scowl.

"You got that right," said Leng's companion, an Earth Kingdom woman who wore a dark form-fitting sleeveless dress, carried a whip on her belt, and had one of the biggest sets of yurts Yunfei ever clapped his eyes on. "How long have you been out here?"

"Uh…since last night," Yunfei replied. "Or was it the night before…any word from Ty Lee?"

"I'm not your damned messenger, boy," Leng snarled. "Make up with your girlfriend yourself."

"Ah, sorry, sorry! Still drunk," Yunfei stammered. He shook his head in a failed attempt to clear it. Leng raised an eyebrow.

"Enumerations, pup."

"Ah, right." Yunfei assumed the lotus stance and closed his eyes. He breathed deeply inwards, channeling his chi into inner fire, then breathed out, sending the energies coursing through his meridians. The sour sensation of evaporating alcohol permeated from his wrinkled silks as the ancestral firebending technique of the Ouyang clan was put to a more mundane use. "What's up?"

"You made some bloody stupid remarks at the fancy party which got some important Earthers' panties in a bunch, and they've finished handling the fallout, is what," Leng replied. "So now, in addition to the mortal peril of my day job riding down bandits in the Agri-Ring with our fellow clansmen, I get to add babysitting to my list of duties." The First Sword spat, then flashed a predatory grin. "A bit of community service to show our new friends how sorry Clan Ouyang is for saying such hurtful words."

"I…I apologize," Yunfei stammered. "I didn't know it would cause so much trouble. I will atone for my failing. Thank you for the opportunity." Leng laughed, to which Yunfei responded with a puzzled look.

"Oh, you won't be thanking me once you meet the rest of the team," Leng replied.

"What? Why?"

"Never mind. You'll find out soon enough," Leng said. He leaned in, palmed the bottle from Yunfei's section of countertop, and took a swig. "Hmph. Not bad, this," Leng added, offering it to the woman and setting it down when she refused. "You good to ride?"

Yunfei nodded.

"Then come on. Everyone else is waiting at the stables." With that, Leng flipped a coin on to the countertop and turned away. "Thank your brother, if anyone," he added. "He was the one who suggested it."

At the stables, Yunfei saddled up a mongoose-dragon and met the rest of the team, Fang-lin from the Shu Jing branch of the family with her hook swords, Sukh from Xilingol with his axe and bow, along with a ward from Clan Chan of Ember Island, clad in standard firebender armor sans skull mask. The woman who had come with Leng introduced herself as Jun. And then-

"Hi Yunfei," Kazuma said exuberantly, while the ostrich-horse he rode paced idly in place. "I know we had an unfortunate disagreement the other night, but let's take this as a valuable opportunity to learn from each other and be friends?"

Yunfei looked around and saw people of all nationalities looking on at the small warband.

"Looking forward to it," he called out, a little too loudly, while pulling his own mount close to Kazuma's, allowing himself a small measure of satisfaction as the ostritch-horse did a little hop in alarm. "Don't talk to me, don't make eye contact with me, let's just get this over with," Yunfei hissed as soon as he was within range.

"Dude, what the hell is your problem?" Kazuma whispered back, his brows furrowing in annoyance as he pushed his mount forward.

"I thought I made it very clear previously."

"Because I'm White Lotus? Alright, fine. Just answer me this: how come you're super sparkly princess pony pals with Sokka, then? He took out that airship fleet all by himself. That's how many Fire Nation deaths on his hands?"

Yunfei suddenly became aware that he had the pommel of his sword in a death grip.

"Like I said, I don't have to justify myself to you. Now if you'll excuse me, those bandits aren't going to kill themselves."

"Whatever dude," Kazuma spat, rolling his eyes. They had just reached the gates past the middle ring when the White Lotus saw a familiar figure waiting for him.

"Hey Jin," Kazuma called out, pulling his ostrich-horse to a stop in front of her. "What are you doing here?"

"Iroh closed shop early today. I think he was worried about you," she replied. "The last thing he had me do was make sure the incense sticks were lit on the shop altar."

"Is that safe to let a fire unattended?" Kazuma asked. "I mean, it's only incense, but still…"

"Iroh lives there half the time anyway, to be honest I think he prefers it to the embassy's royalty quarters," Jin said. She looked down at the ground and fidgeted with her hands. "Here, let me see your sword," Jin said suddenly. Kazuma handed it to her, watching as she untied one of the ribbons that held her hair into pigtails. He watched as she bit her lip, her fingers moving deftly, zipping in and out like the Weaving Girl at her loom, tying it around the weapon's handle.

"That's a very pretty knot," Kazuma said, feeling a slight flush coming on to his cheeks.

"Kazuma…be safe," Jin whispered.

"Don't worry, I'll come back in one piece," Kazuma replied, smiling. He wavered, a little unsure of the next steps until the raucous voice of Ouyang Leng made the decision for him.

"Oi! Lotus pup! If you're done making out with your girlfriend, maybe we can actually get a move on!"

"I, uh, I'll see you later," Kazuma said, spurring his ostrich-horse onwards as Jin reddened and waved goodbye. Yunfei, meanwhile, looked away and tried to forget the scene that just took place, every second of which felt like a saw digging into his heart.

"Good of you to join us," Leng said. "Now come on. You're missing the murder-make."

* * *

There was no rain that day, only an intense blazing sun that roused Ty Lee from her slumber in the hospitality quarters of the Fire Nation embassy. It was just as well, for the day was a special occasion, and she needed the extra time to dress herself and look every part her role. Thus it was that she bore the heat under the weight of her Kyoshi Warrior attire, modified with a strip of white cloth tied across her shoulder. Unfortunately, extra time to get dressed was also extra time for lucidity, which in turn was extra time for memories to flood back.

_"Ty Lee, I'm sorry," he said, during the morning after the gala._

_"Are you apologizing to me or for yourself?" she asked. He blinked._

_"Uh, to you? For me? Both?" he stammered. "What do you mean?"_

_"You owe Kazuma an apology too, you know," she said. "For all those things you said."_

"Copper for your thoughts?"

"Oh, morning Mai," Ty Lee said, looking up. "It's nothing. You're ready, I see?" Her old friend was dressed regally as befitted the Fire Lady, and a retinue of Royal Guardsmen and Kyoshi Warriors flanked her. All around her stood various dignitaries, some of whom she recognized, others not so much. Out of the corner of her eye she thought she even glimpsed Kei, though the gypsy woman disappeared from her vision the next time she looked.

"Yes." Mai turned to a sundial. "The ceremony's in five minutes. Let's go."

The embassy courtyard was a rock garden arranged in the Ember Island style, with placements of pebbles and stones of various color laid out according to the Book of Changes, each cluster surrounded by a circle of flame. At the center was a raised stone platform, which normally would have housed a blazing eternal flame, but today was managed into a small ember, on top of which rested a nest of thin logs. At a nod from Mai, two of her Royal Guardsmen saluted, then brought forth a bundle swaddled in cloth, which they proceeded to place upon the logs. With mechanical precision, the Guardsmen stepped to either side of the bundle and unfurled it, revealing the resting body of Sergeant Mifune.

_"The things I said - when I called him a traitor? But he was. Come on, Ty Lee, we've both said the words in school. With my hands I fight for Fire Lord Ozai and our forefathers before him. With my mind I seek ways to better my and the Lotus, they betrayed it."_

_"Yunfei...the war's over. Let it go."_

_"Ty Lee, you have to realize, we Ouyang take our oaths very seriously. No one is as reviled as the oathbreaker, and all that. So yeah, I know the war's over. I know our Fire Lord wants us to have peace. But all that stuff the White Lotus did, that all happened before. And that is what I can't stand. What I'll probably never be able to stand, since I get a reminder of it all every year I go to sweep the family tombs on Qingming, and I get to see all my kinfolk who died for nothing."_

Mai stepped forth in front of the body, then turned to address the assembled guests.

"Three nights ago, upon the conclusion of the Jade Jubilee Gala, an attempt on my life was made," the Fire Lady announced. "Sergeant Mifune gave his life in defense of my own. On behalf of the Royal Family, we recognize this life-debt and honor Sergeant Mifune with this Order of Sozin, Crimson Heart." She produced several medals from her sleeve, then turned to the guardsmen. "One, to be delivered to his family," she announced, holding a medal up for all to see before returning it to her sleeve. "One, to follow him on the Yellow Spring Road," she said, handing another medal to one of the two Guardsmen, who saluted, then turned to pin it onto Mifune's body. "And one for the one he leaves behind, Hanako of the Kyoshi Warriors."

Ty Lee turned her head and saw Hanako stifle back a sob as she marched solemnly towards Mai and accept the medal, then return to her place in the funeral assembly. Steathily, Ty Lee made her way through the crowd until she was next to her battle-sister. She gave Hanako's hand a supportive squeeze, to which Hanako responded with a sad smile.

"Gentlemen, proceed," Mai ordered.

"Duty is heavy as a mountain," one of them announced.

"Death light as a feather," the other added.

"Go content along the Yellow Spring Road, brother," the first said.

"For you did your duty and held the line," the other replied.

_"So that's it then? You'll hate every Fire National who fought against the Fire Lord before Sozin's Comet?"_

_"Sounds about right, yes?"_

_"You know, I fought against Azula. On the Boiling Rock."_

_"I mean, no. Maybe? Well, that's different-"_

_"How?"_

_"Well, you, uh, you were protecting your friend. She attacked you first."_

_"And the White Lotus was protecting everyone else in the world. We attacked them first too."_

_"We - scorched earth wasn't the best plan, yes, but Azula was controlling you. We were going to make their lives better-"_

The two Guardsmen took a stance and punched a steady stream of flames that caught on the nest of logs and swallowed Mifune's body as a sky-wolf devours a koala-sheep. Ty Lee quickly glanced to her side. Hanako was struggling and failing to keep the tears back. Cremation may have been Fire Nation tradition, owing both to spiritual tradition and the lack of burial land on the islands, but the Earth Kingdoms believed bodies should be buried whole, preferably in a plot with the family. . It could not have been easy for the Kyoshi Warrior, and Ty Lee gave her comrade another squeeze on the hand.

_"By destroying their way of life?"_

_"By dehusking the rice grains of their culture! I read the histories, Ty Lee, I know we were like them once, but then we cast off the parts of our culture that were holding us back." He shook his head. "Alright, since we're apparently doing this now, yes, I believe that by any objective measure, if we discard the current fashionable philosophy that culture ought to be some kind of holy cow, our ways were superior to theirs."_

"You may want to look away," Ty Lee whispered. She had seen a Fire Nation funeral before in her youth, and it was not a pleasant experience. "The next part can be...unsettling." Hanako shook her head, and Ty Lee looked on, observing the proceedings, reaching out with a reassuring hand as the cleansing fires wracked Mifune's body. She felt yet another a tight squeeze on her hand as the water inside Mifune's body desiccated, causing it to twist and spasm before finally shrinking down and disintegrating into ashes. The funeral was soon over, and the mourners dispersed, save for four individuals.

_"Is that how you really feel?"_

_"Ty, please – we don't have to do this now."_

_"You really think they're inferior to us."_

_"I think it's really stupid that the Water Tribes don't let their women be warriors. I think it's really dishonorable that Omashu just gave up without a fight until we'd already spent like half a year civilizing them, and then they kicked us out but didn't even have the conviction to toss out all the stuff we built there. I think it's really backwards that all the Earth King does is sit in his palace and play with his pets while far more qualified people actually run the country. All these are factual observable objective things. It's not me, it's them."_

_"Then if you think that of those 'tribals' and 'earthers', you can't think much of those who chose to consort with them."_

_"Ty Lee…" _

"_Goodbye, Yunfei. I'll still fight with you for the tournament. But…please don't look for me during the downtime. I...it was a good couple of months and I want to remember that."_

"I didn't expect to find you here," Ty Lee said to Kei, who had remained behind. The gypsy woman shrugged.

"Sergeant Mifune was a brave man dedicated to his duty who perished half a world away from his homeland. We gypsies who are destined to wander in search of spiritual fulfilment and are often preyed upon know that pain well. The least I could do is pay my respects," Kei said. She turned to Hanako and Mai. "May I hold that?" Kei asked, pointing to the urn that now housed Mifune's ashes. "I wish to impart upon it a gypsy's blessing."

"Thank you," Hanako said, relinquishing the urn before turning to Ty Lee. "Thanks for being here, Ty Lee."

"It's the least I can do," Ty Lee replied.

"Ty Lee, if I may?"

"Sure?"

"You and Yunfei. I know you two are having some troubles right now, but I just wanted you to know that Mifune and I had the same issues when we first met. I...I will never have the happiness that I hoped for with Mifune. I'm just saying…sometimes they do change, if you don't give up on them too quickly."

"I'll…I'll keep that in mind, Hanako," Ty Lee said. Suddenly, something made the hairs on the back of her neck rise, and she looked back but found nothing. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Speaking of the two of you, I have something else," Mai said.

"Oh?"

"You should know that Zuko was concerned about my safety here and specifically chose a Fire Nation team that could also look out for me. Yunfei and yourself was his pick. Now, I have yet to see anything special out of that boy…which is why we are invoking our right as victors and challenging you two."

"Oh. Good to know." Ty Lee paused for a beat. "This wouldn't be your idea of trying to get us back together, would it?"

"Of course not. I am merely trying to determine what it was Zuko saw in him," Mai replied. The slightest of smiles appeared on her lips. "But it would be very clever of me if it was."

* * *

"Hey Yunfei, I have a question."

"What did I say about talking to me? Go away, Kazuma."

"Hey Fang-lin, I have a question."

"Why am I not surprised?

"So I hear all Ouyangs name their weapons. Why is that?"

"It helps us forge a deeper connection to the steel by which we live and die. It reminds us that while there are many weapons like our own, this one is ours. That the weapon has a life, that it is our life, and we must master it as we must master our lives. That we must learn our weapons like a brother, its strengths and its weaknesses, and so forth, until there is no enemy, but peace."

"That's deep."

"We say the full creed before forging our weapons for the first time. It's been part of the _Hundred Sciences_since forever. Crack open a codex sometime before you waste my time with these things."

"One more."

"What now?"

"What's yours?"

"Tiger's Head and Serpent's Tail. And in the interest of sparing everyone else, Leng's is Icefang. Sukh's axe is Threadcutter and his bow is Tengri's Reach. Yunfei's is Windbreaker. Chan is a pure firebender and does not use weapons, and even if he did, he is a ward from a clan that does not have this tradition. Jun likewise, minus the firebending."

* * *

The floors had been swept. The cash register closed. The incense lit. The fruits offered. The statue oiled. Now all there was for Royal Uncle Iroh, Grand Lotus, Dragon of the West, Liberator of Ba Sing Se, and owner of a charming little tea shop in the Middle Ring to do was wait...and play Pai Sho.

"Your move," Iroh said warmly to the old master sitting in front of him, lost in thought.

"Ah, yes it is," Piandao said. He paused to think for a few seconds, then made his move. Iroh noticed the slightest waver in the swordmaster's hand as he set his tile down on the board.

"You are troubled, old friend."

"I am concerned, Iroh," Piandao replied. "Fighting in a tournament where there are safeguards and rules is one thing, but a bounty-hunting excursion is another."

"Kazuma is a grown man now, and we have taught him well. He will be alright," Iroh replied. "There is risk involved, yes, but it is a necessary one, and let us not forget, Kazuma volunteered for the task."

"I understand the need to have Kazuma go and get some real-world experience, and the need to mend fences between the Fire Nation clans and the White Lotus," Piandao said. "I am more concerned with his teammates. The bounty hunter, fine. She did lead the kids to you back during Sozin's Comet. But a steppe tribesman? "Blood Yaksha" Fang-lin? Admiral Chan's son? And Leng leading them..."

"You're concerned he holds a grudge."

"I know he and Shijie both swore upon their honor to keep Kazuma safe. He also pointedly reminded us that 'blades are blind' after promising this. You were never on the ground with him, Iroh. Or against him. The other Swordbreakers, they at least knew restraint, but Leng, he's brutal." Piandao shook his head. "You could always find him by where the most bodies were. He was almost as bad as Ozai. If he chooses personal gratification over honor-"

"They would not dare," Iroh said quietly. "The First Blades have always been undyingly loyal to the clan leaders. Leng would not go against the word of Shijie. And if he does, I promise you the White Lotus will not let the matter go lightly."

* * *

"This is terrible," Kazuma said, staring at the scene of desolation before him. The burnt-out village stuck out like a sore thumb against the otherwise verdant Agri-Ring. Charred crops, wrecked equipment, weeping civilians, all made for a disturbing scene to Kazuma's eyes. "How could anyone do this?"

"What's the matter, never seen a dead body before?" Yunfei scoffed as he shouldered past.

"No, and I hope the day never comes when I become so nonchalant about it," Kazuma shot back. "People died here, Yunfei. Show some respect."

"Whoa, this guy's calling you out, dude. You going to take that?"

"Shut up, Chan," Yunfei snarled, before turning to Kazuma and leaning in. "You're lucky I have to do this thing where I restrain myself in the interest of my personal image, Lotus," Yunfei hissed. "Else I'd Agni Kai you right here, right now."

"You know, I try and I try, but I find my respect for you diminishing by the minute," Kazuma replied. "I find it hard to believe you were the best Clan Ouyang had to offer." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yunfei's hand twitch in the general direction of his sword.

"Koh's cloaca on a cracker, I am this close to just gutting the two of you, consequences be damned. Can the two of you just shut it for one second?" Leng roared from further inside the village before turning to the elder he was speaking with. "Continue."

"They come every month, sirs, demanding protection money. And if we can't pay, then, well..." the old man gestured around them. "We tried fighting back, but they had many benders, and what few earthbenders our village has produced went off to the cities to seek better fortunes."

"Hmph." Leng walked about the premises, only to be shooed off by Jun leading her shirshu.

"Stay put," she said. "Your stomping around is making a mess and interfering with my work."

"Why doesn't the City Watch do anything about it?" Kazuma asked.

"There's too few of them," Sukh said. "Do some basic math. It's roughly a one-to-three-to-five-to-seven ratio between the populations of the upper, middle, lower, and agri rings. They're enough to patrol the Upper Ring and parts of the Middle, but too few for more than that. Besides," he added, shrugging, "no one wants to increase their numbers too much. Given their origins, the Council of Five doesn't want to give them more power as it is."

Leng harrumphed at this. "Stupid pissing match, if you ask me," he said, walking towards Fang-lin and Yunfei, who were exchanging combat pointers regarding their respective weapons. Kazuma was about to join them, but he felt a tug on his sleeve from behind. He turned around and found that it was an Earth Kingdom boy, barely over six years of age, thin with a rotund head crowned with two tufts of ox-horn braids.

"Fire Lord, will you bring my sister back?"

_Damn these bandits_, Kazuma thought darkly. He knelt down and patted the boy on the head.

"Don't you worry, little brother," he said with a smile. "We'll bring them back safe and sound. This I, Kazuma of the White Lotus, promise you."

Meanwhile, Jun ignored them and turned to the peasants.

"Did they leave anything?" she asked. "A sign, maybe, something for you to show which band of marauders you're under the 'protection' of?"

"No, but Baek's son tried to fight them and they left a spear in his throat. I can bring you the spearhead."

"You didn't wash it, did you?"

"No, Miss."

"Good. Bring it here."

* * *

"Old Lord Lau, welcome," Ouyang Yunteng said happily, a dung-eating grin on his face as he saluted the merchant who stood before him. "How was the trip? Do you require any rest or refreshment before commencing the tour?"

"Agreeable enough," Lau Tak-Wah replied, grinning. "Don't worry, young'un, when this old frame's walked carts of cabbages through every corner of the world, a little trip from the Agri-Ring is but like a step into the men's room."

"Very well, let us begin," Yunteng said before turning to the guard who stood outside the Ironworks gates. "Mr. Howl, if you please?"

Lau raised an eyebrow. "You hire waterbenders? Interesting."

"There have been protests outside our walls due to our role as the Fire Nation's primary arms manufacturers," Yunteng explained. "Recently I'm finding that hiring waterbenders as guards allows for more…nonlethal options for crowd dispersal."

"Ah. Very wise," Lau noted. The rest of the day went swimmingly, as the Ouyang branch manager led the Earth Kingdom merchant on a tour of the Ironworks and the old assembly lines, carefully plotting his path so that as many Earth Kingdom workers were encountered as possible while avoiding the warriors from the home islands who had come to watch the clan champion compete. Yunteng was somewhat glad that Leng was gone, taking Yunfei with him; based on the events at the gala, Yunfei still hadn't learned to control his tongue, and based on past experience, Leng did know how to control his tongue, he just never chose to exercise that particular power.

"Well, one thing I don't understand," Yunteng said as he and Lau Tak-Wah walked along the previously abandoned assembly lines, littered with scattered engines, treads, glacis plates, turrets, and all manner of vehicle parts. "Why do you need tanks anyway? Can't you have earthbenders do the plowing? Or draft animals, for that matter?"

"Spoken like a true Fire National," Lau replied with a smirk. "Oh, it's nothing against your heritage, mind. Merely a note of your…misunderstanding into the intricate science of agricultural production."

"Oh?" Yunteng raised an eyebrow. It was true that he did not understand much of farming; half of Clan Ouyang came from the steppes where herding livestock was the primary means of food production, and the Fire Nation's level of industrialization allowed the other half to specialize in metalworking and simply buy food instead of figuring out how to grow it themselves. "Illuminate me."

"You can't just dig a few ditches and be done with it," Lau explained. "You have to turn the soil, carefully, with love and care. You have to make sure all the nutrients are equally spread, and the old soil up top gets replaced by the new soil below, because that's the only way your crops will be big and full. Sure, I can hire an earthbender. If I go on the cheap, he'll stomp a few times on the ground and give me nice neat rows where the old soil is still on top, just pushed to the side. And if I hire an earthbender who will till the earth proper, who will vibrate the soil to give it vitality…those costs come fast, and they repeat every year."

"Still, I can't imagine a tank being much cheaper," Yunteng said. "Even if you account for it being a one-time cost as opposed to a perpetuity."

"Ah, but I don't need them to be exactly battle-ready," Lau replied. "There's no need, for example, for all that armor, or shocks, or system redundancies, or grappling spikes. That should cut down on the cost significantly, I would presume?"

Yunteng crunched the numbers in his head. "Hmm, true. Why don't we have some tea in my gardens? I'll forward these new details to my assistant and they can come up with a quote for you while we wait."

* * *

"Hey Chan."

"Whatup, bro?"

"How did you get put on this?"

"Dude, all I know is one day my dad and my uncle decides to go off on some top secret navy mission, and it was like, party rockin' in the house tonight, all night, every night, you know? And then one day my uncle comes back with some guys from the Fire Lord and says I'm supposed to do one of those secondment things to Ouyang so here I am."

"Hey Sukh."

"Yes?"

"You're a steppe tribesman. But all the other Ouyangs look to be from the main islands. How is that?"

"Clan Ouyang is based in the borderland between the steppes and the Fire Nation proper, Kazuma. We were highly instrumental in the taming of the steppes, and as a result there are actually two branches, one in the main islands and one on the steppe. I come from the latter. Anything else?"

"Wow. You're literally the first Ouyang I met who said that to my questions."

"Ouyang Sukh, at your service."

"One more: how come everyone here hates me so much?"

"A lot of us went through the compulsory Fire Nation education system, Kazuma. A lot of us died or knew someone who died in the war. And all of us are taught from birth to value duty and honor. You, being a White Lotus Fire National, represent everything that was taught to us as 'bad'. The White Lotus snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, says many. Being White Lotus prior to Fire Lord Zuko's ascension makes one an oathbreakers, says many others."

"So what do you think, then?"

"I think that since you did not go through the standard Fire Nation compulsory education, you never said the oath every morning in class, and so the charge of oathbreaking does not apply. I also think that what I think matters far less than the task that lies ahead of us. You have never taken a life before, I understand?"

"I have not had the occasion. To be honest, I'm a little nervous. What can you tell me about it?"

"It is an experience that varies depending on the individual. You may come speak with me about it afterward, if you wish. Or your adoptive father. I'm sure he will have much wisdom to offer."

* * *

The rooftops in the residential area next to the Fire Nation embassy had seen many busy people lately. Due to an influx of relocated colonists from the end of the Harmony Restoration Movement, ex-soldiers from demobilization of the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation armies, diplomats from the restoration of diplomatic relations, and simply migrants from the increase in global trade, the area teemed with residents and construction laborers alike.

Today, however, Constable Zhui Feng's team of City Watch added their presence, combing the area for possible evidence ever since the attempt on the Fire Lady's life. It as a daunting task to be sure, but the constable was fairly confident in his men's ability to do the job, especially since Toph Bei Fong was lending her assistance to the effort.

"I risked my neck for this peace, and I sure as heck am not going to see it go poof because of some lunatic," she had declared. "And that's the bottom line, 'cause the Blind Bandit said so!"

They began their job with gusto, not the least because half the squad were Earth Rumble fans who appreciated the little bit of kayfabe, and their hopes were soon answered when Toph stomped down on the ground announced the discovery of an underground chamber beneath a construction site.

"This looks like one of our old tunnels," Zhui Feng noted, as he entered and felt along the walls. "Abandoned after the edict that established us."

"Something's blocking that way," Toph added, pointing at one of the walls. Zhui Feng walked over, formed a stone glove over his hand, and knocked a quick pattern of taps against a hollow corner. Seconds later, the wall dilated, revealing a metal wall.

A metal wall with a rather large hole melted into it.

"Well, I suppose we know how they got in," Zhui Feng noted, kneeling down. "This ground seems recently turned. Looks like they're working with an earthbender, though how they found these tunnels I have not the faintest idea."

"We should still go see where it leads," one of the City Watchmen commented, but Toph shook her head.

"The earthbender closed the path behind them when they were done. It was pretty thorough, and I can't even tell where they ended."

"Hmph. Then the only thing to do is go back up and file a report. The chief and the Council of Five must know about this."

* * *

"Hey Jun."

"Yes?"

"Think we're going to see any action?"

"I'm hoping that our prey has the sense to surrender without fighting, but I also hope to swim in a lake full of my own money and eat custard buns and shaved ice for breakfast every morning without getting fat, so whatever that's worth."

"Hey Leng?"

"What now, pup."

"How'd you get that scar?"

"Don't you have better things to do than ask meaningless questions?"

"I should go."

* * *

Starting Stance. Split the Wild Horse's Mane. White Crane Spreads Its Wings. Pushing Step. Strum the Lute. Reverse Elbow Push. Stroke the Peacock's Tail. Single Whip. Cloud Hands. Testing the Horse's Head. Rising Right Kick. Dual Winds Striking the Ears. Left Kick. Diving Stance. Weaving Looms. Plucking Needle From Seabed. Flashing Arm. Turning Hammer. Six Seals, Four Enclosures. Cruciform Hands. Closing Stance.

"Good form, Qing," Katara said approvingly, saluting the Northern Water Tribe girl as Brad and the other Southern Tribe students applauded. "You've improved greatly since yesterday." Qing reddened, stammered a quick thanks, and went off to rejoin the rest of the class. "All right, five-minute water break, then come back for single technique cleanup."

As the students dispersed, Katara allowed herself a brief second and massaged the bridge of her nose in annoyance.. Not at her students, of course; they were angels and, even on the worst of days, served to remind her that she was no longer the last Southern waterbender. Briefly, she thought about Aang, still scouring the world for signs of Air Nomad remnants, and sighed. It had been four years since the defeat of Ozai and Azula and the end of the war, but a complete return to normalcy still seemed so far away...and the Northern Water Tribe was definitely not helping in this regard.

_"How could you have not noticed? This is unacceptable. I don't care what the other masters say, Pakku," Katara had said. "You're their leader. You should have done something."_

_"Yes, well, the minute the Fire Lady stepped in shot any chance of that straight to the depth," Pakku replied. "Half of them already bristle at the changes to our traditions that you imposed. Now the other half hate the fact that we're being represented by a girl who, as far as they're concerned, cheated her way into the representative spot and is flaunting Fire Nation disregard for our culture in front of millions."_

She had spoken to Pakku the night of the gala. Learned that his White Lotus duties often took him away from the North Pole. Learned that he did ensure that the girls' classes continued, especially in the teaching halls of the more conservative waterbending masters. But, for whatever, reason, the girls simply did not progress the way the boys did, and soon even a Master Lotus could be discouraged, beginning a destructive cycle that led to the current state of affairs where girls were still funneled into the healer's camp, they just now took an hour of waterbending every day for forms practice and whatever application training that could be squeezed in after the instructors had finished with the boys. Katara saw this yesterday - Qing knew the forms very well, and had memorized the verbal heuristics, but her push-hands against Brad was erratic at best and seemed almost like half of what she knew was learned by watching others from behind a wall.

_"Is it really that bad? Why not just teach her now?"_

_"I would, now that I've seen what she can do, but Lotus business calls. And the others - from what I had gathered, it has gotten to the point where they would rather her lose than compromise their traditions. They understand that if they teach her, then she will inevitably teach the others upon her return, and that is something they will not allow."_

_"No offense, Gramp-Gramp, but that's really dumb."_

"So yesterday we went over Stroking the Peacock's Tail and its applications in push-hands and in live combat," Katara announced as her students came filtering back. "Today we move on to the Single Whip. A basic technique, yes, but sometimes the most basic techniques are also the most effective. Qing, Brad, as the oldest students, why don't you come and help me demonstrate?"

_"You and Kanna had been away for too long. You must understand that the North has always considered itself the true keepers of Water Tribe ways, ever since the Great Calving all those ages ago."_

_"Well, maybe if the North would change its ways, people would stop leaving."_

Brad performed the technique with gusto, as one of his youth was wont to do, while Qing followed along. Katara nodded with approval as the two executed the movement with finesse and orthodoxy.

"This is the version in the beginner twenty-four step form, yes," Katara lectured. "I believe you are ready for the more advanced version." She assumed a horse-riding stance. "In the twenty-four, we simply draw the water - " her right hand formed a hook that sliced through the air, pulling moisture from her surroundings, condensing it into a ball, just in time for her left palm to cut forward in an arc and send it crashing into a practice dummy - "and sling it. But in this version, we have a counterattack as well. Brad, hit me with a water bullet."

"One bullet, coming right up!" Brad called. He took a stance, chambered his fists, and lashed out with a Turning Hammer, sending a melon-sized water blast right at Katara, who by this time had returned to a default ready stance. Right before the projectile would have hit her, however, Katara twisted her hands as if cradling a ball. In the blink of an eye, Brad's water bullet disintegrated into a million droplets before condensing into a whip that lashed out with Katara's backhand strike and stopped just short of his nose with a sharp cracking sound. As Brad fell backward, stunned by the sudden attack, Katara without missing a beat stepped out and cut with her left palm again as before, this time sending the whip the other direction to strike the ground right at Qing's feet.

_"Maybe. But we will never get anywhere if we dwell on ancient history. I have already told you that too many things vie for my attention. What are you prepared to do?"_

_"Well, since no one from her own home will teach her, then I will."_

"Whoa, that was awesome!" Brad called out. "How do we do that?"

"Easy. I'll slow it down for you. Follow me." Katara demonstrated the movement several times, then had the students perform on their own while she walked by to make adjustments. "Aga, your arms are right, but turn your waist more. Manitok, your timing is correct, but lower stance. Tarqeq, you got it. Tanaraq, good power, but watch your posture."

"Am I doing it right, Sifu Katara?" A quiet voice asked. Katara turned to the source of the sound.

"Almost, Qing. Do it again, slow motion," Katara said, smiling warmly as she held the girl's hand and fixed her frame. "There. Now you got it."

_"Be careful with that, Katara. As I've said, the reactionary currents are strong in the North. They may not take it kindly to further interference."_

_Katara made a wry grin._

_"After Zhaoka, do they really have a choice?"_

Yes, while dealing with the inadequacies of her people's culture can be vexing sometimes, the look of understanding in Qing's eyes as Katara showed her hidden applications she never knew wiped the frustrations away.

Someone was learning from her efforts. For a teacher, what could compare to that?

* * *

"You sure this is the place?" Leng asked, fingering the grip of his sword in its sheath. As soon as the hunting party obtained the spearhead, it was a smooth shot from there into an abandoned temporary worker housing facility where labor battalions once were stationed, and the party had arrived right when afternoon was transitioning into evening time. Now, if the indications were correct, the building was being used for something else.

"Please, Leng, Nyla's never wrong," Jun scoffed. "Just wait for it." Sure enough, in twenty minutes, a gaggle of men approached, driving carts full of crops and livestock. Several things differentiated them from the average farmer, however. All of these men were armed and armored in varying degrees, for one. Some of their weapons bore bloodstains, for another. And finally, they looked to be Fire Nationals, while in their carts were sobbing women of Earth Kingdom descent. They did not notice the hunting party, hidden behind bushes and rock outcroppings.

Kazuma felt his choler rise, a burning lump in the back of his throat, a feeling quite alien to him given his peaceful upbringing. His hand crept unconsciously to his sword, and he felt his insides burn with righteous anger.

A hand touched his shoulder, followed by a cooling sensation that spread along his body.

"Keep it together, jackass," Yunfei growled. "You'll give us away."

"Why aren't we going after them?"

"It's the middle of the day, and we don't know their force disposition. Nor do we know the security measures," Fang-lin hissed. "You don't hunt a sky-wolf by charging into its den and punching it in the teeth, you have to fight smart."

"Order of the Agni Kai, from the looks of it," Jun noted. "Check the insignia on the shoulder pad."

"Order of the what now?" Kazuma asked.

"Agni Kai. Ex-Fire-Nation military who don't recognize your Zuko as the rightful ruler, says he cheated by taking a waterbender to a fire duel."

"But she was his second. Azula was the one who cheated by attacking her first."

"Okay, great. Tell that to them, not me." Jun turned back to the camp. "Fang-lin's right. We need to observe some more."

"Um, I can tell how many firebenders there are."

"Wait, what?"

"It's something I've been able to do since I was thirteen. I can tell where fire is, natural or bent, and I know that there's two firebenders inside by the door, one on either side. Another one somewhere on the same floor. Four more on the floor above, one moving up to the roof, then three on the roof. The farthest corner doesn't have anyone."

"Then those other two must not be benders," Jun said. "Alright, this makes things much simpler. Psst, Leng!"

"Yeah?"

"Catch all that?"

"Yeah. So let me ask you something, pup," Leng growled. "What about nonbenders?"

"I…I can't tell." Kazuma paused, thinking. "But we're all a team of badasses, right? I'm sure we can take them."

"Hmph. Green pup. Never underestimate how much damage an expert swordsman can do." He turned aside and observed the building some more. "Tell me, did you see any firebenders inside before this new bunch arrived?"

Kazuma nodded.

"Then it wasn't abandoned to begin with and we don't know their real numbers."

"Um, like, how'd you figure that?" Chan asked. Leng did not bother to answer.

"Because one on one, all else being equal, a nonbender's always at a disadvantage, but a bender can still be overwhelmed by their numbers," Sukh offered. "So if you're going to guard something and you have benders, you always leave at least one or two behind along with a few nonbenders. That way if you're attacked by only nonbenders, your benders can be a force multiplier. If you're attacked by only benders, you have your own benders to tie them down while your nonbenders overwhelm. And if you're attacked by a mixed force, then it's still an even fight. If there were no benders in the building, then we know no one was guarding it, and the party we saw is all they have. Since there were benders, that means they have an unspecified number of nonbender support inside."

"Oh. That's deep, man," Chan said, surprised. "I didn't know you steppe people could get all analytical like that. Thought you guys rode rhinos and shot arrows all day."

"Yes, well, we can't all be rhino-riding barbarians," Sukh replied dryly. "The great khans of old would not have threatened to engulf the main island if we were."

"Alright, listen up," Leng ordered. "It's close to the evening mealtime. Kazuma, keep an eye on that building and tell me if they're starting cookfires. Everyone else, eat up, but cold rations only. No fire. We give them some time to get full, get drunk, have a little R&R, and then when their guard's down..." Leng paused, then grinned the toothy grin of a predator bearing its teeth in anticipation of battle. "We tear out the throat."

* * *

_**Codex  
**_  
_Primary Documents_  
_Subsection: Military/Law Enforcement_

_Following the liberation of Ba Sing Se by the Order of the White Lotus and the restoration of power to the Earth King, there were many calls to disband the Dai Li entirely. After all, it was the Dai Li under Long Feng who had usurped power and then betrayed the Earth Kingdom during a pivotal point in its history when many agreed would have ended the war months earlier. Chief among them were the Avatar himself and his fiancé Master Katara of the Southern Water Tribe._

_However, Fire Lord Zuko intervened, arguing that a city the size and scale of Ba Sing Se needed a law enforcement presence to match. Lending support to this was, surprisingly, also the Avatar. Avatar Aang received a vision that decreed he must go to the old Earth Temple in Omashu on the Spring Equinox, and this he did. There, by his account, he had received a vision from Avatar Kyoshi. Her spirit claimed to have regretted creating the Dai Li centuries before, he said. She acknowledged having gone too far in attempting to protect Ba Sing Se's culture. Then she handed down a set of writings, a form of _codex arbites _that would create a new group of internal guardians. Like the Dai Li, they would protect Ba Sing Se from itself. Like the Dai Li, they would receive specialized training to apprehend wrongdoers of all types, bender or no. Unlike the Dai Li, they would be bound to a strict set of rules and regulations governing their behavior. No more would the watchmen watch only themselves._

_And on the twelfth day of the third lunar month of the year after the war, the Ba Sing Se City Watch welcomed its first batch of students._

_~Prolog, Ba Sing Se City Watch Agent Field Manual, 1__st__ Edition_


	8. Chapter 7: Disharmonious Elements

**A/N**: And this ends the filler, and in the next chapter we will be back to your regularly scheduled competition. This chapter serves to 1. Establish some power level math, 2. Provide more worldbuilding, and 3. Stock up Chekov's armory. Also I was watching the "Voice in the Night" episode of Korra and reading "Rules of Engagement" in Horus Heresy and wanted some nice room-to-room urban combat.

**Chapter 7**  
**Disharmonious Elements**

It was not a good day for Tiger Yao.

First he drew the short stick and got stuck on guard duty while most the other gang went marauding. Then he drew the short stick again, and got the roof, with the sun bearing down on him all day. Sure, he was Fire Nation and somewhat used to heat, but that didn't mean he liked stewing in a set of cured leather under the blazing sun either. Then the marauding party came back, and they decided to give themselves first dibs on the spoils. And the sound insulation in this old barracks was horrible. He joined the army to get away from, among other things, the incessant grunting of the family rhino herd in rut, not to be constantly reminded of it.

And then, to cap it off, he turned around to spit over the rooftop, but found himself unable to look down due to the arrow in his throat.

"Loosed and dropped," Sukh called out as he pulled another arrow from his quiver and looked for his next target. Next to him, Jun struck home with a shirshu dart, dropping another sentry. At the same time, Chan and Kazuma kept up a steady stream of fire that took out the other two guards on the roof.

"Shot team, cover us! Sword team, to me!" Leng barked.

Inside the barracks, Kabuto and Mimura were doing their best to ignore the sounds of their fellow bandits. Normally, they would have been able to hear the thumping of the sentries of the roof as their bodies fell, but the squad leader's grunting as he helped himself to the pick of the crop which sounded nothing more like a pig-chicken being slaughtered masked any form of warning they might have received. All they knew was that one minute, they were throwing dice by their positions next to the main door, a heavy oaken board reinforced by wrought steel crossbars, and the next minute a torrent of blue fire blew the thing clear across the building. To their credit, boredom and a few cups of sorghum wine could not overcome battle-honed instinct, and the two of them took stances to either side of the breached door and punched out streams of fire.

Their eyes widened as they beheld a young man clad in the armor of the Fire Nation steppe tribes reach out with his hands, spin, absorb the fireblasts into his own body, and throw them right back, catching the two Order of the Agni Kai soldiers in the chest and sending them flying through the air. Kabuto was fortunate enough to have looted a suit of officer plate earlier on in his career. It had saved his life more than once, and emboldened by his protection, he snarled an oath as he prepared to show the intruder what it meant to mess with the Agni Kai.

Ouyang Yunfei's broadsword did not give two shits about any armor the Agni Kai member wore as it broke through the breastplate with contemptuous ease and stabbed into his chest.

"Clean," Fang-lin called as she kicked her own target in the jaw, staggering him and opening him up for a followup slash with her hook swords that tore out his windpipe. She scanned the rest of the room, weapons held ready as Yunfei did the same, dropping them by a fraction as the situation was ascertained. "Clear."

"Didn't realize you'd hit so hard," Leng grunted as he and Kazuma followed Yunfei and Fang-lin inside. "They're sure to have heard that one." He paused to listen, but while some of the shouts of pleasure were turning to panic and alarm, others were continued, making for a highly discordant combination of ambient noise. "Or maybe not." He waited for Sukh and Chan to enter, then turned to face the group.

"So what do we do now?" Chan asked.

"This floor splits up into a T-intersection. Now I got enough confidence in the lot of you to split you up, so that's what we're going to do. Yunfei, Chan, with me. Kazuma, Sukh, you're with Fang-lin."

"Wait, where's Jun?" Kazuma asked.

"The hell are you complaining about, pup, you already got a pair of titties on your team," Leng grunted. "Oh come off it Fang-lin, grow a sense of humor," he added as Fang-lin yelped in protest. "But yes, that is what I would like to know. Sukh?"

"She said she was only paid to track, not to fight, and that she's going to ask for reimbursement for the shirshu darts," Sukh answered with an apologetic shrug. "She was quite…adamant on the matter."

"Miserly bitch." Leng spat. "Well, from the sounds of it, we still got some of them with their pants down. Let's keep it that way. Move out!"

* * *

Few people in the world knew much of anything about the spirit world. Oh, it was the Avatar's duty to act as a bridge between the moral and spirit realms, yes, but there was only one Avatar every generation. Aspects may do the same, depending on how much formalized training they received, but their journeys tended to be far more selfish in nature. For the vast majority of people, the extent of their knowledge of the spirits' influence upon the world were the benders who altered the very elements of nature at a whim.

Kei knew better. There were ways, and there were ways, and while her people have never produced a single bender despite their deeply spiritual upbringing, they found something different. Maybe not better, but different.

Imprints were very useful things. Just a simple touch, a few brief enumerations, and the spiritual signature of an individual was within her grasp. An initiate into her people's ways would only be able to glean the vaguest ideas of general health – whether someone was alive or dead or how far away they were, for example – but with training, more could be learned. And Kei was far beyond initiate status. She knew, despite never having seen any of them after the gala, that Yunfei was off on an excursion in the Ding-Chen sector of the Agri-Ring, that the Old Lord Huang was selling land and a serving woman to a farmer who had a bumper harvest the year prior, that Brad and Katara were training in the Southern Water Tribe quarters, that Councilor Ngo of the Ministry of Trade was having tea with someone he did not want others to know he was having tea with, that Ty Lee appeared to be making her way towards an Avatar Temple near the Gang-Hui Plaza. And by this time in her career, Kei had developed the sensitivity to glean imprints from whatever residual energies the dead possessed as well.

Most would call the ability useless – after all, if the dead one was really that important to you, you'd have taken an imprint from them when they were alive. And if you didn't, well, they could not have been that important.

"Knowledge is power, guard it well" had always been one of Kei's mottoes, along with "No one harms me without punishment," "Neither a borrower nor a lender be," and "There is a special place in the underworld reserved for child molesters and those who talk loudly at the theater".

It was a boon that Mifune's killer chose, of all things, a lightning blast to do the deed. Imprints from the dead were already weak, and Kei needed every boost she could get. All bending was highly spiritual in nature, especially a technique as advanced as lightning, and the dead carried that with them too. In addition, this narrowed down the list of possible suspects in Kei's mental catalog considerably. Blood Tides, Badger Claws, Crimson Points, Dark Sky Seven, Night Lords, Sons of Stone, Storm Serpents, Thirteen Cold-Blooded Eagles, Tower of Grey, and countless others, all ruled out due to elemental incompatibility. Which left only the 108 Stars, Burning Legion, and the Order of the Agni Kai.

After a day's combing the Lower Ring's underbellies, Kei was finally getting close.

"You got a lot of guts showing up on our turf, earther bitch," came a shrill voice behind her.

Kei stopped in her tracks. An awkward smile crept up her face. And then a set of throwing knives dropped out of her sleeve into her waiting hand, and she spun and cast them in a wide arc all around her. Two Fire Nation men suddenly found themselves pinned to a nearby wall. The woman, the one who had spoken earlier, managed to deflect the strike and prepared a firebending counterattack, only to take a push kick to the gut that cut off her breath.

_And that is why you do not try to sneak up on someone when the sun is behind you,_ Kei thought.

"Order of the Agni Kai, by your colors," Kei noted, stepping on the Fire Nation woman to keep her from getting up. "I wouldn't try anything if I were you," she called out, eyeing the two Fire Nation men who had succeeded in pulling themselves loose from the walls. "Next one finds your throat." To punctuate the point, more throwing knives popped into her hands. "Judging by your colors though, you are Burning Legion. Working together?"

"What do you want?" the woman hissed.

"Take me to Po-jun. Or Warmaster Qin. Preferably both. If they are not present, then whoever is currently in charge."

"They are busy lords and I am but a soldier. Even if I knew, I wouldn't take you to them."

"Oh, you will," Kei said, her eyes narrowing as she leaned in and whispered in the woman's ear. Her eyes widened as Kei finished her spiel. She opened her mouth to speak, but then stopped, interrupted by another voice, soft-spoken and genteel, but with an edge of steel.

"Why, Glaive Dancer, such a surprise. Why are you picking on my poor children here? Surely there are others of your own size you can bully?"

Kei looked up and smiled warmly as she recognized the man. Of average height and slightly portly weight, slightly balding with a thin mustache, bushy brows that gave him a somewhat perpetually perplexed appearance, clad in common firebender armor save for a set of gold-trimmed shoulder pads and an officer sword which bore the Ouyang Ironworks seal. Behind him stood a retinue of guards, their bamboo-straight postures indicating past military service, their varying sizes, builds, and uniforms revealing an eclectic mix of service branches represented, though all wore the standard firebender skullmask.

"Marshal Yan Po-jun," Kei replied. "General of the armies of the northwest. Commander of the Zhuque legion, later commander of the Ba Sing Se garrison. Hero of the Battle of Garsai. Breaker of Walls. Crusher of Rocks. Butcher of Garsai." She let go of the woman and allowing her to return to her feet. "I was looking for you."

"All old titles, though it pleases me that some remember them," Po-jun said. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"I see you and the Warmaster have come to some amount of agreement?"

"We did, in fact, reach some amount of compromise," Po-jun replied. "Of course, you know what they say – it's not a proper compromise unless both sides are equally unhappy with the arrangements. But I doubt you are here to make small talk."

"No," Kei replied. "In fact, I am here because I believe one of your men - or perhaps the Warmaster's - need reminders of the rules for operating in this city. An insult has been delivered. Discipline must be taught." She saw Po-jun's guards bristle at this. Several went for their weapons, and Kei brought her glaive forward from its position on her back in response, but Po-jun waved them down.

"None of my men, Miss…Mallari. Where did you pick up that name, may I ask? It does roll off the tongue easier-"

"As you said, I am not here for small talk," Kei interrupted. Something tingled on the back of her neck. She placed a hand to her brow chakra and paused in concentration. "Here."

"Excuse me?"

"The one I am looking for is here. Among your retinue." She scanned the bodyguard squad. Not the tall cavalrywoman. Not the wiry tanker. Not the Yu Yan. The slight woman, dressed in marine gear...

"And how did you come to this conclusion?" Po-jun said, his brows furrowing in annoyance.

"I have my ways, is all you need to know."

"Hmph. You impugn my honor, Dancer," Po-jun said. "As you say. Discipline must be taught." He snapped his fingers, and the Burning Legionnaires lunged.

"I will be the only one giving the lessons today, Po-jun," Kei replied as she rushed in to meet them. On the first step, she palmed several pellets from her utility belt. On the second, she cast them to the ground, surrounding herself in a cloud of dense smoke. On the third, she heard the roars to clear away, but she had already hit the floor as a massive burst of flame soared overhead, singeing her back but otherwise leaving her unharmed. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to attune to the spirits of everyone around her, Po-jun, his guards, the scouts from earlier, everyone, and _melded_. The fireblast cleared the smoke, but she had disappeared from their vision.

"Agni's left nut," one of the Burning Legionnaires cursed, before an unseen glaive sliced into his ankle. He howled in pain as he dropped, clutching his knee as the severed tendon snapped upwards and blew out his kneecap. One of his squadmates turned in anticipation of the unseen threat, but Kei's glaive exploded through his chest before he could do anything. In such close quarters, the Burning Legion could not firebend without hitting their fellows, and Kei was among them like a piranha-shark among a school of elephant koi.

_This is the price you pay for flouting the rules,_ Kei wanted to say, but before she could put thoughts to speech, she heard a sharp and commanding female voice bark the words "get back," and then an intense blue fireball engulfed her most recent target and would have consumed her as well had she not kicked the flaming corpse off her weapon and pike-rolled away. More fireblasts followed her as she ran, but they could not hit what they could not see.

Kei's heart was pounding and her lungs felt like they would explode by the time she ascended back to her familiar roost in the clock tower. It was definitely one of the harder sprints she had done, and now she sat in a lotus stance, running through a set of breathing exercises to recover from the excursion and to reflect.

Kei did not like failing, especially so close to fulfilling her objective. But, mulling things over, she also did not like this newfound courage that the Burning Legion had found. For years they had not questioned her rules. Yet today they felt emboldened enough to attack her.

_Why now?_ _Who's behind you? _She wondered. The answer to that was obvious. _Whoever did the hit on the Fire Lady._ Which led to a better question.

_Who are you really?_

* * *

Room-clearing with the First Sword was an experience, Yunfei decided.

Yunfei was no stranger to combat. As one of the preeminent noble clans, Ouyangs trained their children from youth in the warrior ways. Yunfei had forged Windbreaker at the age of thirteen. Gone on pilgrimage under the tutelage of his sister, "Iron Orchid" Ouyang Lan at sixteen. Fought by her side across the post-war world for the better part of three years. Spilt his share of blood. As such, he still bore some of the invincibility of youth, that feeling that no man could stand for long before Windbreaker's edge, that any man who tried would be cut down like so much stubble before a shaving scalpel.

Fighting next to Ouyang Leng showed Yunfei just how much more work lay ahead of him before he was ready for First Blade trials. If he was a scalpel, then Leng was a veritable threshing combine before which human lives were so many stalks of wheat to be reaped for harvest.

"I got him-" Yunfei called, sword ready to engage the bandit, but Leng had darted between them and sliced the enemy fighter's throat.

"Does he do that all the time?" Chan asked. "Not like I'm complaining about being out of harm's way, you know, but I'm kinda wondering what I'm doing here if he's just going to hog all the kills."

Yunfei shrugged and moved to keep pace with Leng as they fought through the building.

* * *

Room-clearing with the Ouyang was an experience, Kazuma decided.

Kazuma's training was in the martial traditions. Ways to strengthen the mind and the body. Ways to make the sword an extension of the self. Ways to detect hostile intent. Ways to read the minute movements of the body, to identify alterations to the center of gravity, to sense slight changes in pressure during a blade bind, to do a myriad of things handed down by thousands of generations of warriors from the four nations intended to give them an advantage against any single adversary.

But small-unit tactics was a different beast entirely.

The first room they'd found, he blasted open the door in a fit of righteous rage and charged in ready to knock some heads. The surprised firebender had barely gotten off the mattress that held him and his prize, and he had just enough time to shoot off a fireblast at Kazuma, who sidestepped and hit back with a follow-up blast that caught the man in the chest and knocked him against the wall.

"Enjoy waking up to the sight of a prison cell," Kazuma growled as he finished up with a kick to the head, knocking the bandit out cold.

"Dammit, Kazuma!" Fang-lin yelled as she and Sukh stormed in after him.

"What?" Kazuma asked, looking back.

"That was stupid, is what," Fang-lin growled. "What if that room was booby-trapped? Or if there was someone else in there?"

Kazuma was taken aback. "I…I would have figured out something."

"Remember how we entered the building?" Sukh asked. Kazuma nodded. "There was a reason for that. You're strong, Kazuma. So you're going to be our ram. Wait for us to get on either end of the doorway first. Blow it open, then duck back. Fang-lin and I will take care of any counterattacks and enter first to secure the room. Then you follow us in. Got it?"

"Sorry," Kazuma said, quickly filing the lesson to memory. The honor of the White Lotus was at stake, and he would not represent them poorly.

"No worries, just do better next time. In fact, it would probably be best if you just follow our lead."

Meanwhile, Fang-lin was checking over the Earth Kingdom woman. "Catatonic. Covered in bruises. Some bleeding. Bastards," she growled, then turned to Kazuma and the passed-out bandit. "Is he dead?"

"I took care of him," Kazuma said.

"Not my question," Fang-lin replied. She strode over to the body. "He's still breathing."

"I knocked him out. He won't harm us any more. We can tie him up to be sure."

"How do you know that? What if he wakes up? Firebends the ropes off? Or his buddies come in and find him?" Fang-lin snarled. She reached out with one of her hook swords and tapped the sky-iron blade in Kazuma's hand. "Finish it."

"But that's murder," Kazuma protested.

"And we are here on murder-make-" Sukh began, but Kazuma cut him off.

"You know what I mean," Kazuma said. "Look, I understand killing someone in the heat of battle. But this will be in cold blood."

"You saw what he did," Fang-lin scoffed. "You really going to argue he doesn't deserve death?"

"Kazuma, the longer you drag this out, the more time the rest of our enemies have to get their bearings," Sukh added. "Fang-lin has the right of it."

"You're asking me to do the dishonorable," Kazuma said, exasperated. "Surely a clan as illustrious as yours understands-"

"To hell with this," Fang-lin growled. Before Kazuma could react, she shoved him aside, knelt on the unconscious bandit's chest, and punched the crescent-bladed hand guard of her hook sword into the man's neck. The bandit's leg jerked, then his head rolled to the side as life left him. "I will disregard that slight upon our honor for now," Fang-lin snarled as she got up and shot Kazuma a glance with all the venom of a rat-viper. "Move out!"

Room-clearing with the Ouyang was an experience, Kazuma decided. One that was illuminating as well as disillusioning.

* * *

Lin Hayate was tired.

Ever since his spirit world visit all those days ago, he had felt more invigorated, more energetic, more powerful. But Lin knew that power was a fleeting thing, especially power from such a capricious source, and so it was that he spent the entire day at the Royal Avatar Temple in the Upper Ring. Originally constructed for the private use of the Royal Family, in recent years Earth King Kuei opened it up for public use, albeit with strict controls over how many could access the facilities at any time of the day. Ordinarily, a citizen of Ba Sing Se would have had to wait in line for hours before a ticket would open up.

Being a tournament competitor, however, had its privileges, and Lin Hayate took advantage of this to the max, spending days poring over ancient tomes and scraps of lost lore. The tournament had drawn many who would not normally venture to such a bustling metropolis, and in the past few days Lin had seen Earth Kingdom gurus, Fire Sages, Water Tribe medicine men, even a select few archaeologists who had chosen to study Air Nomad lore all make stops here. But he dared not approach them in discussion, fearing they would discover the beast within. And so progress was slow, and Lin was about to call it a night when the smell of burnt snow lotus, oak, wolflower entered his nostrils. He closed the book and ventured forth, peering past the wall and seeing the unique visage of a steppe shaman, clad in the pelts of various beasts, crowned with a sky-wolf atop the head, a pair of red steel lightning claws strapped to his wrists, with a young woman kneeling beside him.

Lin was surprised. From what he knew, steppe shamans were a diminishing breed, their prominence among the Fire Nation's tribesmen diminishing with the rise of the Fire Sages. There were indeed a few clans who still held to the old ways, Jaghatai, Merkit, and Khitan among them, along with the steppe branch of Ouyang, but in any case the shamans tended to dislike travel away from the embrace of their Eje Earthmother.

"It is done, child," the shaman said, in thick accented common speech. "Oak for strength, wolflower for fortune in the hunt, snow lotus to let him know it is from you."

"Thank you, Shaman Yesugei." The woman rose, saluted the man, and began to exit, and that is when Lin recognized her as Ty Lee. Not wanting his fellow competitors to see him, he instead opted for the backroad out of the temple. It would take him through an alleyway that mothers with children did their best to avoid, but that was no obstacle to one such as him.

"Hey, Demon," a gravelly voice called from behind Lin as he walked, which made him wonder why gangers, especially those of Earth Kingdom descent, insisted on adopting a gravelly voice when they wanted to appear amicable yet threatening. Lin stomped, and a wave of earth engulfed the speaker and held him to a wall.

"What do you want?" Lin hissed, raising a fist and readying a boulder that hovered by his side.

"Whoa, whoa, belay your badgermoles," the man said. "I just want to talk."

"That was a terrible turn of phrase and you should feel bad for saying that," Lin replied, disgusted. He set down the rock. "You've been following me."

"You celebrities haven't been making a point to keep hidden," the man replied. "Just hear me out, alright?"

"Fine. Speak."

"My name is Tu-Hsiung, lieutenant to Shih Po-tian of the Sons of Stone. I have a proposition for you that I think is mutually beneficial."

"Why would I agree to anything with one of you people?"

"Oh come on now, don't tell me you believe in the propaganda that the City Watch puts out about us. We're but a band of Earth Kingdom veterans looking for ways to help each other out. Times are hard after the war, you know. Too many of us can't find work or get our pensions back. We just need someone famous who can catch the eye of hundreds of thousands to make the case and grant us exposure."

"And then it gets out that I work with a crime lord."

"'Crime' is such an ugly word and hardly fits at all with what we're trying to accomplish here, now does it? But we did anticipate this. There is sufficient separation between those who make the petition in front of the Earth King and we their backers."

"What do I get out of it?"

"The Sons of Stone are not an insignificant force in this city, Demon Lin. We will owe you a favor, and you know how men like us consider such debts."

Lin Hayate turned and walked away.

* * *

Find room. Blast it open. Dodge tripwire-launched flying daggers. See Fang-lin and Sukh peer inside. See Sukh give the clear signal. Exit and watch the rear. Next room. Signal firebender presence. Blast it open. See Fang-lin absorb retaliatory fireblast into her body and throw it back. Cries of pain. See Sukh loose a brace of arrows and enter. Follow him and Fang-lin in. See Fang-lin sink Tiger's Head into a bandit's neck. Stagger the remaining bandit with a fireball while Sukh plugs two arrows into his chest. Liberate kidnapped Earth Kingdom woman. Clear. Exit and watch the rear. Arrive at intersection. Detect no firebenders. Guard the rear while Fang-lin and Sukh assess. Feel tap on shoulder signifying clear. Head right. Find room.

Kazuma found his rhythm. It felt good, delectable even, the rush of adrenaline filling his limbs, the crash of doors being brought down by his blasts, the pounding of his heart as his sword parried and struck. The methodical pace that the Ouyang set prevented him from thinking too much about his misgivings about their methods, and he decided that, moral qualms aside, this was a highly educational exercise.

They were at a T-intersection now, and Kazuma had sighted a firebender round the corner. He signed this to Fang-lin, who nodded and switched positions with Kazuma such that she now took up the rear while Kazuma and Sukh hugged the sides of the walls. They inched along, nearing the edge, waiting for the right moment to burst out and rain death.

"We're under attack!"

Fang-lin snapped her head back, eyes going wide and nostrils flaring in anger as she heard the warning shout echo throughout the building. Sukh's eyes met hers, and in them she saw annoyance as well. For Kazuma, however, a different kind of reflex took over; there was a challenge to his warrior ethos, and it will be answered. Even as Sukh ducked back into cover and Fang-lin turned her attention back to guarding the rear, Kazuma dove across and punched outwards to either side. The enemy firebender's shot was entirely overwhelmed by the torrent of blue fire that filled the hallway, knocking him on his back and sending him skidding several meters. Kazuma quickly scanned to either side. Nothing to the right, and only the downed firebender struggling to get back up to the left.

"Clear," Kazuma called out. Sukh immediately stepped out and plugged two more arrows into the firebender's chest.

"Okay, anyone mind telling me what the hell was that?" Fang-lin hissed, eyes still trained on the rear.

"I don't know," Kazuma began, but Sukh cut him off.

"Kazuma. When you're about to round a corner, make sure your sword isn't poking out first. That's how he saw you." The steppe warrior turned to Fang-lin. "Sorry. I was about to sign a warning, but the firebender saw him first."

"I'm sorry, Fang-lin," Kazuma said. "I won't make the same mistake again."

"Make sure that you don't," Fang-lin growled, leading the group further on. "Oh, Kazuma?"

"Yes?"

"Impressive fireblast. And endurance, too. Have you always been able to do that?" Kazuma nodded. Fang-lin looked like she was about to say something, then thought better of it and motioned him onwards. "Come on. Kazuma, take point."

* * *

_Axes flash, broadswords swing, shining armor's piercing ring._

The old war song echoed through Yunfei's mind as he fought through the barracks. They advanced methodically, Ouyangs in front, using the standard stance of off-hand in front to ward off fireblasts, weapon held ready at neck level in preparation for followup strikes and to defend against other forms of attack. Yunfei, too, had found his rhythm, and it provided a release he thought he would never find. Turns out that while he could not drink Ty Lee off his mind, killing did the job far better.

"Enemies everywhere! Go go go!"

By this time the nest of bandits were starting to become responsive to the mixed Ouyang-Lotus-mercenary force in their midst, and resistance was starting to harden. Having cleared the current wing, Yunfei, Leng, and Chan had reached a flight of stairs when crisscrossing streams of fire rained down, stopping them in their tracks and sending them back into cover.

_Horses run with polished shield, fight these bastards till they yield._

A brace of small smoking globules tumbled down after them. Chan began calling out a warning, but Yunfei and Leng circled their hands, a chill filled the air, and the fuses went out with a puff of smoke.

"How'd you do that?" Chan asked, picking up one of the grenades. He knew that that firebending allowed for control of a fire's intensity, but he had never seen it applied with such precision.

"The price we pay for-," Yunfei began, but a glare from Leng silenced him. The First Sword knelt down and picked up the snuffed out grenades. Then, with a puff of breath, he reignited one of them and hurled it back. As the explosion threw the defending bandits into disarray, Leng leaped forward, Icefang drawn, ready to begin the murder anew.

_Midnight mare, blood-red roan, fight to keep this land your own._

Former Fire Nation Private turned Agni Kai member Rui-kang shouted a kiai and hurtled a fireblast towards Leng, but the First Sword dispelled it and sent it crashing into the chest of its owner. Bowman Koizumi popped out of cover, shouted a war cry, and unloaded the magazine to his repeater crossbow. It was a marvel of engineering, created from the crafthouses of Clan Zhuge, one that served the Fire nation army well across a hundred years of war and served Koizumi better across dozens of battles in the Earth Kingdom. Ten bolts erupted from the weapon's stock in the blink of an eye, matched by ten thrusts from Icefang in the same amount of time that struck them from the air. The bandit crossbowman's eyes widened as he ducked down and felt for another magazine, but his volley slowed the First Sword's advance sufficiently that Leng could not possibly reach him before he reloaded. Glee filled his eyes as he snapped the wooden box on to his crossbow.

"I will destroy you!" He shouted, popping back out of cover and imagining the glory this act would bring him. "Death to the false Fire Lord!"

Yunfei charged up, and Windbreaker sang as it cut through the crossbow and opened Koizumi up from gut to throat.

"Wicked," Chan called out as he shot his own fireblast upwards for Yunfei to redirect behind a barricade, keeping the remaining bandit pinned until Leng barreled past, leaped for the man, and punched downwards with the steel gauntlet on his right hand. When he got up, there was some sort of pink and gray matter smeared across it.

"What are you lot waiting for? Move," Leng growled. As he waved the pair forward, Yunfei thought he saw the First Sword give an almost imperceptible nod of his head.

_Sound the horn and call the cry, how many of them can we make die?_

* * *

It was the happiest day of Qing's life.

Training with a teacher, one who actually cared, and not only did not ridicule but actually encourage her questions, surrounded by fellow students who were nothing but supportive of her efforts, stood a stark contrast to her training at the North Pole. And while Mai was an excellent teacher in her own right, she retained that Fire Nation rugged individualism that made her hard to approach sometimes. And after the waterbending lesson, Katara had treated them all out to dinner with her tournament competitor stipend, resulting in her now walking back to her quarters at the Northern Water Tribe embassy with a belly full of fried blubber, seal sausages, and cake, with Brad next to her. They chatted about many things, the shades of snow, the differences between their tribes, the similarities in their bending styles, everything under the moon.

She got the distinct feeling that something wasn't right as she neared the gates, however. There was an aura of general unease as she approached, and she realized what it was as she recognized the group of boys lounging about outside.

"Hello, little sister," the oldest of them said, a tanned one with three waves tattooed on his cheek, the skin of a polar beardog draped across his shoulders, the amiableness of his voice a little too overstated. "You certainly are making a name for you out here, aren't you?"

"Nukilik," Qing replied, startled. "I didn't expect-"

"That's _Senior _Nukilik," another cut in. "Mind your manners."

"Yes, Senior Chugach," Qing stammered, holding her hands apologetically. _Why did they make her feel this way?_ She had bested them all during the trials, hadn't she? And Mai had taught her ways to defend herself. Why was it simply being around her classmates inevitably make her feel like a weak little girl again? "What brings my esteemed seniors here to Ba Sing Se?"

"It has been deemed necessary that we come to watch a girl represent the martial traditions of the Northern Water Tribe using nothing that resembles such under the tutelage of the chieftainess of they who would have destroyed our culture four years ago." Nukilik paused to look up at the sky, placing a hand on his chin as if deep in thought. "Hmm. Come to think of it, I'm not sure that they did not succeed."

"Hey, that's a bit uncalled for, don't you think?" Brad cut in. The one called Chugach fixed Brad a glare that made him gulp.

"And who might you be?" Chugach growled.

"Brad. Of the Southern Water Tribe. Student to Master Katara," he replied.

"You are speaking to Nukilik Bearsbane, Serpentslayer, Breaker of Iron Ships, star pupil of Master Pakku of the Northern Water Tribe," came the reply. "And as my master taught yours, I am not merely your senior but your elder also." His eyes narrowed, and his voice dropped from its previous urbane timbre to an admonishing hiss. "You will speak to your elders with respect, do you understand?" Warning finished, he turned back to Qing.

"Don't mind us. We will merely be setting ourselves up here from now on. Oh, and little sister?"

"Yes?"

"You will be training with us from now on. Dismissed. This means you too...Bato, was it?"

"Brad." But they had already left.

Qing sighed. It _was _the happiest day of her life.

* * *

The hunting party moved with frightening efficiency, and soon Leng's group and Fang-lin's group had regrouped on the top floor.

"Well, aren't you a welcome sight around these parts," Leng said, sweeping his eye across Fang-lin's group. "How fare you and yours?"

"Speak for yourself, one-eye," Fang-lin replied. She spat, then turned back to Leng. "Well enough. This kid," she added, pointing to Kazuma. "Hella strong when you get him riled up. Now if only we could get him a pair of balls and maybe half a brain-"

"Hey, I only refused to kill defenseless people who've already surrendered-" Kazuma began, but Leng cut him off.

"Save it for the ride back," Leng growled. He turned an appraising glance to Kazuma. "Guess I ought to keep an eye on you," Leng mused, the jade orb sitting still in its socket. No one said anything. "Well, I thought it was funny," he said, muttering as he wiped the blood from his sword and gauntlet on a nearby wall. "You find any bounty on the way?"

"Neg," Fang-lin, said, shook her head. "I was going to ask you the same thing."

"Are we seriously looking for loot–" Kazuma began, but Sukh cut him off.

"Kazuma, do you remember what kind of spoils these people were taking?"

"Oh."

"I don't suppose that 'fire-sight' ability of yours is finding anyone that we missed," Yunfei sneered.

"It's not, so it must be a nonbender," Kazuma said. _Dude, I have like had it up to here with your attitude_, he didn't say. "I don't suppose you have any better ideas?"

"Welp, more's the pity," Leng said, a little loudly, fixing a glare at Fang-lin. "All right, new plan. We clear out, and then Kazuma, Chan, and Sukh are going to torch this place. Either we'll roast him out, or he'll be dead."

_Play along,_ Fang-lin mouthed, seeing that Kazuma was about to protest further. The group began making their way out of the building, and right when they had reached the bottom floor, surprised to see Jun there to greet them.

"If you're looking for the girls, they're in there," Jun said, pointing to a nondescript corner of the floor. "There's a cellar door there. I was getting bored, so I had Nyla sniff them out. I picked the outside lock with no problems, but there's a set of crossbars inside that I can't get through."

"I can fix that," Yunfei offered. He strode over to the area where the doors were, unsheathed Windbreaker, took careful aim at the seams, and chopped downward. The crossbars were heavy, but it faced Ouyang steel, and Windbreaker whistled as it sailed through the air and split the crossbars holding the door together. Yunfei heard yelps of fright coming from below as the pieces of crossbar clattered to the ground and Chan and Sukh went to either side of the doors to pull them open.

"Help is here, ladies," Yunfei drawled as he began to step inside when he was suddenly cut off by mixed screams of fear and dread. Confused, he stepped inside and tried again. "You're safe now-"

"No! Get away from me!" One of the women cried, shrinking away from him. "Please, no more..." another moaned. All around Yunfei, captive women echoed similar sentiments, and he stopped in his tracks, unsure how to proceed. He stood there, numb, until Jun shoved him aside.

"Out of the way, boy," the bounty hunter hissed. "Let me handle this. Fang-lin, give me a hand here." The two women descended the cellar. "It's okay. We mean no harm. Help is here."

Yunfei slowly walked to the other side of the hallway and placed a hand on the wall. A blur of emotions welled up inside him. He did right, by all the teachings he knew. Crimes were committed. Those responsible were killed. And yet those he saved feared him and saw in him the image of their oppressors. The Pilgrimage prepared him for blood, for death, for battle against a clear and visible enemy, but it did not prepare him for this. He felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Our people have done wrong, Yunfei, but we can set it right. Will you join me in this undertaking?" Kazuma asked quietly.

"These are not my people," Yunfei snarled, whirling around and slapping Kazuma's hand away. "My people are honorable warriors who face their enemy in battle, not scum who oppress those who cannot fight back. These are not my people, and don't you insinuate that any of my ancestors who served with honor were in any way like these wretches." He stormed off in a huff, pausing only to slam a fist into a support beam as he passed. Kazuma started to go after him, but now it was his turn to have a restraining hand placed on his shoulder.

"Leave him be," Sukh said. "It's not going to be that easy."

* * *

It was a full moon out, with little cloud cover, perfect for pensive thoughts, and Yunfei was doing just that. He was still reeling from the reactions of the liberated women, the fear and mistrust instead of gratitude. It did not occur to him that the women may have seen in him the face of the enemy, first the one that had conquered them, now the one who oppressed them again and tried to consign them to a fate that some would consider worse than death.

"Well, well, what do we have here. An eaglet fresh out of the nest, it seems?" a soft voice came from beside him. Yunfei mentally kicked himself for not noticing the warband coming upon him and immediately went for Windbreaker. He had always had a quick draw, and the Raging Wind swordplay style that had been passed down the Ouyang clan for generations was one based around speed. Indeed, he had received his nickname from his fellow clansmen because they deemed his sword strikes to have all the speed and ferocity of a diving steppe eagle.

The spear was at his throat before Windbreaker was even a centimeter out of its sheath.

"Ouyang too," the spear wielder said. "I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised at the presence of servants of the false Fire Lord. How many of you are there?"

Yunfei wanted to mouth back with a snarky remark, but fortunately for him none came to mind. So instead he looked up, studying his adversary's features. The bandit wore a variation of the standard firebender skullhelm, of an older model with pronounced spiked horns. Lithe of build, armored in a custom set of dark red lamellar scale mail with black trim. The spear that was now held to Yunfei's throat emitted the same coldness of a master-crafted tool of murder as Leng's Icefang or Shijie's Evenstar and Falcon's Talon, and Yunfei saw that it was shorter than the standard infantry issue, of ideal length for dual-wielding, with both ends bearing a point and adorned by bright red tassels. The dual-wielding theory was confirmed when Yunfei saw that another spear was indeed in the bandit's other hand. The other members of the warband fanned out around Yunfei, blocking off possible avenues by which to disengage.

"We are many, and powerful too," Yunfei replied as his mind raced for ideas, none of which were forthcoming. "First Sword Leng's in there, and he's got backup."

"You're in no position to be threatening anyone," one of the bandit's guards growled, drawing his sword, only sheathing it when his leader signaled to stand down.

"Hey, I'm just trying to be helpful here," Yunfei replied, looking back his captor. "Just so you know who you're dealing with."

"And you've been very helpful indeed," the bandit said, and Yunfei imagined a smile under the skullmask. "Now be a good little dear and come along, will you?"

"I don't really have a choice, do I?" Yunfei replied as thick ropes bound his hands.

* * *

City Watch Constable Zhui Feng's head hurt. Crime had skyrocketed in the past few days, emboldened by the fact that on a night when dignitaries from all four nations - well, technically three, but old turns of phrase died hard, and a case could be made for the Southern Water Tribe being a separate nation - were supposedly here in Ba Sing Se to enjoy the sights and sounds, and security was at its utmost, an assassin could still place himself in position to launch an almost-successful assassination attempt on the Fire Lord's betrothed. In addition, sources were reporting an increase in bandit and organized crime activity as well, and rumors were spreading that the triads and _tongs _were forming greater alliances with each other. Orders had been given to step up security, especially with the next round of the tournament approaching. Requests were made to the Council of Five for an expansion of the City Watch's ranks and powers, but these were denied. And so everyone on the force, Zhui Feng included, pulled double shifts.

Which is why he was currently striding out of the locker room and into the armory. Today was, coincidentally, the day everyone's gear was being upgraded. There was some controversy surrounding the change, but Zhui Feng did not care. Let the politicians and lobbyists bicker all they like about traditional relationships and shout all they like about "buying Earth Kingdomite". The new gear proved superior to the old gear in the trials, and that was good enough for him.

"Constable Zhui Feng, designation Fire-Zero-Five-One-Two," Zhui Feng said upon arriving at the supply officer window. The supply clerk on duty nodded, pointed to a clipboard filled with names, and disappeared into an array of cabinets and storage racks. A short while later, he returned with a polished new set of chains and grapple hooks. Zhui Feng nodded in turn, then fished a seal out from his pockets and stamped it upon the clipboard before taking his new gear and striding away. It was lighter than he was used to, but tests had proven them to be just as strong as the old model, and as he strapped the chains to his belt, Zhui Feng paused to run his finger over the Ouyang seal carved into the handle.

Yes, let the protectionists bleat all they like. And when they knew how it felt to have a blade actually pointed at them, then Zhui Feng might actually listen.

* * *

"Yunfei's been gone for a while," Kazuma noted as Leng and the others began preparing a quick post-fight meal, primarily for the benefit of the abducted Earth Kingdom women. "Should we go looking for him?"

"He's a big boy," Sukh replied, eyes on a simmering pot of stew. "I'm sure he'll be fine-"

"Hello, gentlemen, how are you," a voice purred. Six sets of eyes snapped to the source of the sound as their owners drew weapons. "You have something that belongs to me. We can fight it out, and a lot of us would die…or we could trade."

"Hey guys, what's up?" Yunfei managed to croak out, as the speaker's spear still at his throat.

"Fan out," Leng growled to his own warband before turning to the bandits. "Let him go and I'll give you all a quick one."

"Quickblade Leng. Manreaper Leng. Devil-Dog Leng. Executioner Leng. Swordbreaker Leng. Jade-Eyes Leng. First Sword Leng." Sheng replied jauntily. "Still as fast and loose with the threats as you are with the blade. How are you these days?"

"Xu Sheng Twospear," Leng growled, recognizing the voice, distorted through the skullmask as it was. Icefang slid out of its sheath. "I thought you were dead."

"Dead? Me? But that would be such a tragedy. Especially since there are so few of us left," Sheng replied sweetly, sweeping an appraising glance across the group. "Jun the Tracker. Blood Yaksha Ouyang Fang-lin, Slayshot Ouyang Sukh. Boy...by your features you look to be some relation to Chan the Diamond Shark." Sheng's gaze fell on Kazuma. "I do not know you?"

"Kazuma of the White Lotus," the young man replied, an edge of steel in his voice. "You run this slaving operation?"

"And what if I do?" Sheng said, bemused. "Will you take my head for my crimes?"

"You're going to the City Watch," Kazuma said, balling his fists in anger. Sheng laughed.

"No. No I won't. What will happen is you will take the women, load them on the carts outside, and let me and mine leave. And then I'll give you your little tournament competitor." Sheng pointed around the room with an off-spear. "You have more than enough heads to collect bounty on. Simply say the women were already moved when you arrived, and that the room was doused in spices to throw off the shirshu's trail."

"Or we could just kill you all," Leng replied, stepping forward as Sukh stepped to the side and nocked an arrow to his bow.

"You attack and we'll kill the kid," Sheng said.

"Kill the kid and you die," Leng said, continuing stepping forward.

"Damn it all, Leng," Sheng growled, muscles tensing as Leng walked closer and closer.

There was a flash.

Yunfei heard a sharp ringing clang and felt something kick him in the ass, sending him crashing to the ground and rolling towards the other Ouyang clansmen. He looked up, and both First Sword and Twospear had their weapons at each other's throats, Icefang being stopped by one of Sheng's spears, Leng's gauntlet gripping on to the other spear. Something landed next to Yunfei with a soft thunk, and the young Ouyang saw that it was Windbreaker, stabbing into the ground like the first sapling of the spring. He immediately crawled over and cut himself loose, then picked up the weapon and looked on at the two combatants, standing still as the guardian statues in the Field of Blades.

"Why didn't you burn away the rope?" Kazuma whispered to him.

"Shut up," Yunfei said back.

Two of Sheng's guards shouted and raised their blades. There was another flash. Leng and Xu Sheng were still in their previous positions, weapons pointed at the other's neck. The two guards took exactly one step before their necks exploded into a gush of crimson. Sheng raised an eyebrow.

"The Blood Yaksha taught you that underhook?" Sheng asked.

"She did," Leng answered.

"You are faster than I remember."

"I am."

"Faster than during Operation Swordbreaker."

"Yes."

"Faster than me, even."

"Perhaps."

"This mission must rankle you, though? To have to baby-sit a Lotus?"

"It does."

Kazuma raised an eyebrow at this.

"That's not going to change your mind though, is it?"

"It won't."

"I saved you in that op, Leng. If I hadn't pulled you away, Unbeatable Piandao would have taken a lot more than your eye." A small gasp emitted from Kazuma's lips, one that everyone else ignored. "You owe me life-debt."

"I do." Slowly, deliberately, Leng put his sword down, and Sheng withdrew the spears back in response as the two fighters disengaged. Stares were exchanged. Leng gestured towards to the other Ouyang clansmen. "They don't."

"Once again, I'm paid to track, not to fight," Jun said. "I'm out."

"Chan, stay," Leng barked as the young ward moved to join the others.

"Speak for yourself," Kazuma growled as he charged forward, sword at the ready. "Prepare to face justice, slaver!"

* * *

It is said that for all martial arts under the sun, speed determines the victor, for while defenses may be broken with power, strength may be redirected using finesse, evasion may be nullified via area-of-effect, techniques may be countered by identifying their weak point, there was no defense against an attack that arrived faster than one could defend. Three of Ouyang's finest plus the apt pupil of the White Lotus felt this keenly as they faced off against against the former Fire Nation commando now turned bandit known across the martial world as Xu Sheng Twospear.

Initially, one of Sheng's retinue got the idea to join in the fray, until a thin straightsword appeared at his throat.

"I don't think so," Leng growled. "I don't owe any of you dregs anything. Anyone else wants to join in has to tangle with me." Next to him, Chan lit a hand on fire and waved.

No one made a step after that.

Still, even with four against one, Sheng was just too fast. Within the space of a minute, all four of the party had been tagged, Sukh a stab piercing the shoulder, Fang-lin a shaft strike on the knee, Yunfei a glancing cut across the cheek, and Kazuma a jab to the calf, while Sheng took not one scratch. Only their numbers and the certainty of followup counterattack preventing Sheng from committing to a killing strike. Another minute passed, and numerous more cuts and slashes accumulated across all four fighters currently engaged, though Kazuma had managed to score a glancing cut along Sheng's shoulder pad.

"Come on, now, we are all Fire Nation here," Sheng called out from drop stance, spears held to either side for optimal defense. "And I know Clan Ouyang to be men and women of honor. Surely the usurper Zuko cannot be paying you that much." The taunt was ignored, though, and Sukh, Kazuma, Yunfei, and Fang-lin circled warily, panting with exertion as they looked for weakness. They all had varying motives. Kazuma, still filled with righteous rage. Yunfei, to avenge his early mishap. Fang-lin, because as a woman she had a hate-on for slavers in general. Sukh because he understood that when the tree falls, the hog-monkeys will scatter. Whatever their reasons, the end result was the same – all four went in, blades held high, fighting through injuries that were thankfully light due to Sheng's need to avoid overcommitting to a strike. They went in, hacking, slashing, stabbing, striking with all the varied weapon techniques at their disposal, straightsword, slashing saber, hook swords, axe, while Sheng fought back, double spears spinning like fiery pinwheels, deflecting a cut here, parrying a slash there, thrusting at an opening and then retreating back to defend again.

In a battle of endurance between the one and many, the one tends to lose. Both sides knew this, and thus the Ouyang pressed the attack, attempting to tire Sheng out, while Sheng fought on harder and harder, determined to end the bout quickly. After the initial bouts, it became clear to all in the Ouyang party that Sheng's weapons were of sufficiently quality that not even master-crafted Ouyang steel or Kazuma's sky-iron sword could simply cut through them, and thus every aspect of the surrounding environment was put to use in order to gain a possible advantage. A chair, hooked and thrown by Fang-lin, ducked under and answered by a series of rapid thrusts. A table, kicked up by Sheng, blocking a stab from Yunfei as the bandit kept Sukh at bay with one hand and Kazuma with another. All across the field they maneuvered, leaping over, ducking behind walls, sidestepping around support columns. A butterfly twist by Sheng over a swipe from Yunfei, landing in a crouch stance under a double swing from Fang-lin, followed up by a thrust to either side to keep Kazuma and Sukh from getting too optimistic. A flaming tornado kick from Kazuma that kept Sheng scrambling to evade as Fang-lin and Yunfei continuously redirected the initially missed projectile until Sheng dove through a window, allowing the fireball to crash harmlessly against a wall.

A storm it was, a storm where every drop of rain was a thrusting point, every howl of wind a slashing edge, every crash of thunder a blade clash, every flash of lightning a searing flame, every swirling cloudhead a tangle of steel.

"Dammit, Leng, help us!" Kazuma shouted, agitation and frustration clear in his voice. For all his rage, all his power, all his training he just couldn't land a good hit on the slaver, and that made his blood boil. The First Sword raised an eyebrow.

"I owe a life-debt, pup," Leng growled. "Or has your time with the White Lotus crippled your sense of honor that much?"

But honor did not win fights, and Sukh was the first to fall. Archery was his forte, but the furball that Sheng and the others were engaged in combined with the close-quarters nature of the fight meant that it would be next to impossible for him to get a clear shot, and so he was forced to switch to Threadcutter. His relative unfamiliarity with the weapon compared to his bow showed, as a quick flick of the spear caught the hook of his axeblade, pulling Sukh ever so slightly off balance, and the next thing he knew he was howling in pain as Sheng's other spear had stabbed into his back and exploded out his sternum. The others quickly moved to support, but Sheng by this time had rolled over Sukh and kicked the steppe warrior's body at Yunfei. The two men crashed into each other, and Yunfei, forced to make a split-second decision between continuing to pursue versus pulling his clansman out of harm's way, opted for the latter.

"Family first," Sheng noted, ducking under another fireblast from Kazuma. "How so very Ouyang."

"It's what gives us strength," Fang-lin replied, redirecting the fireblast, only to have Sheng deflect it into the ceiling with an upward power blow. The Ouyang woman quickly lashed out with her hook swords, catching the shaft of one of Sheng's spears in a disarm attempt, but as she swung her other hook sword, Sheng responded with a lightning-quick thrust with the other spear. The closest distance between two points being a straight line, Fang-lin immediately pulled her attack back to parry, and Sheng's heel smashed into her chest with a push kick that sent the Ouyang woman crashing into an upturned table. She landed heavily, reducing the table to splinters, the wind knocked out of her.

"Eat sword!"

And that was when Kazuma's sword slammed into Sheng's head even as Sheng moved to dodge.

* * *

_It was storming. Not quite a dark night, but storming, in portent of what was to come as the warrior host gathered in front of a Fire Nation villa in Shu Jing._

_"Come back with us," the man in front said, opening his arms wide in a conciliatory gesture that brought his hands coincidentally close to the two cleavers strapped to the small of his back, "We called you brother once. Surely we can do so again."_

_"But this war is wrong, don't you see? We were in the same theaters. Saw the same actions. Surely you all have seen how everyone fears us."_

_"Humanity cannot truly gain the blessings of civilization without experiencing the pain of civilization," a young woman said. She was clad in dark red scale mail, and long silky hair accented her delicate features. "Is this not what Chaplain Sun teaches us?"_

_"Please. I beg of you. For all the love you bear me when I fought by your side, and for all the love I bear you during the same, leave me be. I have no wish to be part of this war any longer."_

_"Bloody hell, we have our orders," a young man, rough in appearance despite his fine armor, a flowing horse-tail crowning his otherwise shaven head, growled out. His fingers twitched to the handle of his own straightsword, a long and thin affair with a carved sky-wolf head adorning the pommel. "Don't force our hand."_

"I would have asked you the same," Piandao said sadly as he placed a fresh bundle of lit incense upon the alter in the Jasmine Dragon. "Come home safely, Kazuma."

* * *

Sheng had dodged just in time, and a strike that would have defaced had instead shorn the faceplate away from the bandit's helmet. Kazuma gasped in surprise as the two pieces of armor fell to the ground with a clang. He expected many things, an ape of a face framed with unkempt stubble perhaps, or a thin snakelike mask of malevolence. He did not expect a cascade of raven locks to flow as a river of obsidian down Sheng's head, spiraling outward like a blooming fire-lily during the twist, crowning a delicate countenance carved from pale jade, brought to life by the two fiery-gold eyes that spat dignified vehemence at him.

"You're...you're a woman," Kazuma breathed out, faltering in his followup stroke for a brief second. Indeed, Sheng could have passed for a lady-in-waiting from the stage operas, were it not for the thin line of raw scar tissue that cleft from the top of the left brow across the nose bridge all the way to the right ear.

Sheng took that second to plunge her spears into Fang-lin's chest.

"Kazuma，you fucking dumbass!" Yunfei shouted, picking up his sword beginning a mad dash for the bandit leader. The smoldering embers of all the confusion and frustration of the past half-hour swelled up inside him, fanned the winds of grief into a burning nova of rage. The inadequacy of his training, the dissonance between the expected and actual reception from the rescuees, the inability to prove himself useful to his seniors, the questionable status of his relationship with his snow lotus, all that now paled compared to his desire to murder the bandit who had brought down two of his kin.

"Yes, I am a woman. What of it?" Sheng said, her eyes twinkling in amusement. "Those philosophers of the White Lotus filled your head with the garbage culture of the foreign barbarians, haven't they? I suppose that's a good thing for me," she added, laughing while preparing to pull her weapons out to meet Yunfei's assault. One spear left with a sickening squelch and a piercing scream of pain from Fang-lin. The other, however, stayed put, and Sheng's heart fell when she turned her head to see why.

"I'm a woman too, Twospear," Fang-lin growled, maintaining her death grip on the remaining spear still lodged inside her body. She felt sharp jabs of pain in her abdomen and sides as Sheng growled and kicked and stabbed at her, trying to free her weapon, but each became less pronounced and more dull than the last. With a scream of rage, Sheng let go just in time to avoid being delimbed by Yunfei. The bandit blocked a followup cut, but the ferocity of the blow knocked her back, and as she backpedaled, she felt her back foot suddenly give way, sending her crashing to the ground.

"The blood. Sometimes it makes the ground slick," Fang-lin murmured with slipping lucidity, and in the back of her mind, Sheng cursed herself for making such an elementary error, while the front of her mind concerned itself with Yunfei, who was now charging forth, sword held at the ready, Kazuma right behind him. As Yunfei approached, Sheng kicked upwards, sending the young Ouyang tumbling over her while using the motion to roll back on her feet so she could deal with Kazuma.

But now it was a losing struggle. Without a secondary weapon, Sheng's efforts became awkward, stilted, lacking in the daring and audacity that had laid waste to so many who had crossed blades with the Twospear before. Kazuma fought ferociously, his powerful slashes and lightning thrusts and searing flames keeping Sheng from reaching Fang-lin's body and reclaiming her other spear. And Yunfei was well-versed in the grappling arts, such that he recovered nearly instantaneously after being thrown, just in time to join Kazuma. The storm of swords started anew, but now it was Sheng who was taking more and more cuts, until another power stroke from Yunfei smacked the remaining spear from her hands right as Kazuma lit into her with a fireblast that slammed her into a wall.

"Son of a..." Sheng hissed, struggling to clear her head and get back on her feet, but she saw the flash of burning steel too late, and now it was her turn to howl as Windbreaker stabbed into her shoulder and pinned her to the wall. She tried grabbing the blade's flat and pulling it out, but her other hand had taken a deep cut from Kazuma and would barely hold a set of chopsticks. She closed her eyes as Yunfei pulled the blade out and stabbed again, waiting for the killing blow that never came. Opening them, Sheng saw that Kazuma had darted in and set aside Yunfei's sword, which was now buried up to the hand guard above her head.

"You son of a...why in the name of Tengri Eternal Blue Heaven did you do that?" Yunfei snarled, pulling his blade out and rounding on Kazuma. "Are you touched, Lotus?"

"We won," Kazuma replied, trying to keep a temper under control as he mentally reminded himself that combat was over. "She's been disarmed, we can take her to the City Watch, and if she firebends you Ouyang can do that fire-absorbing thing that I've seen you do." He looked around. "There's been enough killing today."

"No, not after all she's done," Yunfei growled back. "A life debt is owed. Honor demands no less. What the hell is your problem anyway, Kazuma? Not only is she an oathbreaker to her vows to the Dragon Throne, but she's a slaver too. Death's merited, a thousand times over."

"An accusation of 'oathbreaker' from a servant of the false Fire Lord? Oh, that's rich," Sheng added. Yunfei growled and swung at her, but again Kazuma blocked the blow.

"Then let it be a death sentence handed down by an Earth Kingdom court," Kazuma said evenly. "Her crimes were committed in the Earth Kingdom. They have jurisdiction."

"The next one is going to be aimed at your neck," Yunfei warned, glaring daggers at the young White Lotus.

"It is said that mercy is the mark of a great man," Kazuma replied, staring right back. The anger was flaring up inside him again, and he quashed it down with greater focus.

"Ah, yes, mercy. I'm sure I would consider it a mercy to rot away in an Earth Kingdom prison for the rest of my days, after they break my scapulae and brand my face," Sheng deadpanned. "At least give me a clean death."

"See? Even she wants it," Yunfei said.

"Then why should we give her her preferred punishment?" Kazuma asked, and no sooner were the words out of his mouth did he mentally do a double-take. _Whoa, where did _that _come from? That was cold._ He looked to Yunfei, and saw that at least the point had caused him to paused and reconsider. _And you'll accept that point?_

"Damn it all, get out of the way, pup." Leng barged between Kazuma and Yunfei, shoving them aside. Icefang flashed in his hand as he knelt down to address the downed Sheng. "How are you feeling?"

"I've had worse," Sheng replied. "Like at Wuchang. Remember that? Or Mount Lishan. Let's not forget the bridge at Luding Crossing-"

"I am going to ask you one thing."

"Yes?"

"Is my life-debt paid?"

Sheng closed her eyes, smiled, and gave an almost imperceptible nod.

"One last dance, Jade-Eyes."

Icefang flashed, and Twospear Xu Sheng slumped to the ground, a stream of red trickling from her neck.

* * *

There was a time in every parent's life when their child came home from school one day with cuts and bruises all over, and in horrified tones they would ask their darling who beat them up, followed by angry letters to the school officials and martial arts lessons to the child. And when Piandao and Iroh arrived at the Ba Sing Se emergency care hospital, both their hearts skipped a beat.

"Hey dad," Kazuma called out, stepping forward to give his surrogate father a hug. "I'm back."

"I...I'm glad that you are," Piandao said, returning the hug while trying to hide his startlement at seeing his surrogate son with a body full of cuts and bruises through his White Lotus robes.

"There is someone else to see you as well," Iroh said, stepping to the side.

"Kazuma!"

The next thing Kazuma knew, Jin had wrapped him in an embrace that nudged several of the cuts and bruises Sheng had left, and though he tried to hold it back, a hiss of pain escaped from his lips.

"I will get some tea," Iroh said, striding to the refreshment section. "It will help the pain."

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Jin cried. "You're hurt." She took out a hankerchief from her sleeve and dabbed at growing spot of red on his upper arm. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Jin," Kazuma said, smiling and putting on a game face.

"Kazuma, if it is alright with you, I would have words with the First Sword," Piandao said. As Kazuma nodded and complied, Piandao turned to the Ouyang swordsman and motioned for him to follow. Silently, the two walked outside, and which point Piandao turned to Leng. His eyes narrowed, and his voice fell. "Leng, you have best have a good reason for why my son came back in such condition."

"Couldn't be helped," Leng growled back. "We ran into the Twospear who chose at that point to invoke life-debt. My hands were tied."

"And so you threw my son into harm's way?" Piandao retorted angrily, slamming a palm against a wall. "You swore to keep him safe! Does that mean nothing-"

"Mind your words, Lotus," Leng snarled back. "Of the two of us, I am the one who did not forswear his vows, and I'll not take any accusations of breaking faith, especially not from you. Your son's alive, isn't he? And his sword arm is still good, isn't it? All he came back with was a few scars, which is only going to help him with the wenches. And if my eye doesn't deceive me, it's working already."

"How can you make light of something like this," Piandao said. "To think there was a time I called you brother." Leng harrumphed.

"The boy is back," he said, turning back and walking away. "My job here is done."

"No, it is not," Piandao replied. "Leng-"

"I have three more of my kin to bury," Leng snapped. "So if you'll excuse me-"

"Wait, three?" Piandao said, startled. "What happened to Yunfei?"

"Yunfei is in the same condition as you ward there," Leng replied. "We ran into Twospear. We came back alive. You do the math."

"I'm sorry," Piandao breathed out, sitting back down. "About Sukh and Fang-lin. And Sheng." Leng harrumphed.

"I knew her, Piandao," the First Sword said. There was a period of silence, and then he began walking away.

"Thank you for escorting my son back. Good night, Leng."

"Not bloody likely, Piandao."

* * *

_"I am the flesh and bone of my sword._  
_Steel is my body, and fire my blood…"_

It was an old prayer, passed down from before the Taming of the Steppes, and now the words poured forth from Yunfei's lips, melding with the voices of Yunteng, Shijie, and every other Ouyang in the Ironworks. Even Yunteng's wife and his daughter joined in, for the solemnity of the matter had a way of enrolling all into it.

Fang-lin had lost too much blood, and Sukh had died from complications during transport. There was only so much that herbs and cautery could do for punctured lungs, after all, and he had stopped breathing despite their best efforts but fifty feet away from the nearest Water Tribe healer station. And so the two Ouyang warriors' bodies were laid upon a forge fire to be cremated, their ashes to be gathered and packed into urns, which would then make the journey across the Great Ocean to be placed in the Field of Blades, with their owners' weapons to mark their final resting place.

As the ritual continued, Yunfei could not help think of the previous operation, and of the takeaways from it. He thought a little of how much farther he had to go. He thought a little of the battle against Sheng. He thought about something Leng had said that stuck with him

"Why did you let them go?" Yunfei had asked. Leng was about to brush his off as was customary, but then he took a look at Sukh and turned to Yunfei.

"When the tree falls, the hog-monkeys scatter," Leng had said. "And when they scatter, they fight amongst themselves until someone leads them to another tree. Kill, and they'll be on death ground, fighting to the last because they have nothing to lose. Let live, they'll fix the problem of their existence soon enough."

But most of all, his thoughts returned more and more to the reactions of the women he had helped rescue. _I saved them, but they still saw me as the enemy. Why?_

The ritual soon ended, and Yunfei felt a reassuring hand clap his shoulder.

"You did good today, little bro," Yunteng said.

"I wasn't strong enough," Yunfei said back. He prodded the spot above his brow where Sheng had landed first blood. The waterbender healers were skilled and thorough, but it still felt weird knowing an injury site should hurt but did not. "Cousins Sukh and Fang-lin-"

"Xu Sheng Twospear's skill is renowned across the steppes and the islands," Ouyang Shijie said, lending his own voice to support. "Don't worry, I heard it all from Leng. You took down an entire warband, and that's what counts. You did good, Yunfei. Truly." He looked up, and his eyes narrowed to focus on the newcomer who had just arrived. "Hmm. I do believe you have a visitor, little cousin."

"What?" Yunfei turned around. "Ty Lee!" The Kyoshi Warrior smiled a light and restrained smile as she walked over and offered her hand. To Yunfei, the gesture arrived like fresh coals in winter, and he took it. "What brings you here?"

"They told me what you did," she said. "It is an admirable thing."

"So does that mean…?"

"It means I'm willing to be friends, at least," Ty Lee said evenly. "And maybe more, depending on your future behavior."

"I won't disappoint you again, sun-and-stars," Yunfei said. "I swear-" Ty Lee raised a hand to cut him off.

"Nicknames can come later," she said. "I came to tell you that we got a challenge. The two of us against Mai and Qing, in three days."

"Oh. Then we'd better-" Yunfei caught himself. "I mean, ah, would you like to come by tomorrow to break fast and train?"

"Sounds like a plan, Yunfei."

* * *

"Status?"

"We've lost Sheng, my lord."

"Ah. Tragedy. Her death will not impact the grand scheme of things, but the loss of her skills is regretful. How fare we on the other fronts?"

"Our strength is steadily increasing, my lord. In fact, we are somewhat ahead of schedule."

"Hmph. Slow it down."

"I'm sorry?"

"Slow it down. Too many at once and the City Watch will notice. What of Ouyang?"

"The White Lotus played a good gambit, unfortunately. But his next match is against the girl from the Northern Water Tribe, and that may work to our favor."

"What of our auxiliaries and contractors?"

"Aside from the Burning Legion, Agni Kai, and Night Lords, we have had no favorable replies from the other triads. The Badger Claws..."

"What of them?"

"The envoy we sent there escaped with a broken arm and counted himself fortunate at that."

"Unacceptable. Why do we not have their heads for this?"

"The Thirteen Cold-Blooded Eagles and the Tower of Grey have refused on grounds of professional courtesy, though the Dark Sky Seven and Black Lotus are on the fence and have implied needing additional incentive. They fear, my lord."

"Well, they should fear me more."

"I agree, my lord. Shall I ready the commandos?"

"No. They, too, are ultimately insignificant in the grand scheme of things. And now is not quite the time for a test run. This is but a temporary setback, one to which I have a solution already. Dismissed."

* * *

**_Codex_**

_Post-war Society_  
_Subsection: Triads_

_Following the end of the Great War, the vast armies raised by the Fire Nation, the Earth Kingdom, and the Northern Water Tribe were demobilized for a return to normalcy. However, not all elements of these armies complied. Many Fire Nation military personnel fled to the countryside when the call to disband came, remaining a thorn in the Earth Kingdom's side. In the Earth Kingdom, many soldiers returned home, only to find that there were not enough jobs for them all, and that remnants of wartime inflation resulted in what jobs they could have being barely enough to feed themselves, much less their family members, and thus they turned back to the only thing they knew how to do – violence. And though the Water Tribes were numerically small, their skills were enough of a wild card in turf battles and warband skirmishes that waterbenders were often sought after by warbands of both nationalities, save extremist groups such as the Badger Claws or the Order of the Agni Kai._

_Crime had always been a part of life, small as it may be for some, but the influx of battle-trained and war-hardened individuals turned the matter into something more serious. The Fire Nation, having not suffered from invasion, remained mostly immune save for occasional attacks from remnant Azula sympathizers. The situation is similar in the Northern Water Tribe, which has stalwartly defended its borders all the way until the very last days of the war, and the Southern Water Tribe, which has suffered through so much invasion as to be nearly nonexistent. The situation is most serious in large Earth Kingdom cities such as Ba Sing Se, however, where the long arm of the law simply is not long enough to search every nook and cranny._

_~The Complete Works of the Hundred Sciences, 52nd edition, Ba Sing Se University Press_


	9. Chapter 8: Trial by Fire

**Chapter 8**

**Trial by Fire**

Kazuma always got the shakes before a fight.

"_**Friends, fans, and followers, it is with great pleasure that I welcome you back to the Amphitheatre of Great Peace for the second round of the first biannual Harmony Games, specially crafted by our engineers to faithfully reproduce the catacombs of old Ba Sing Se."**_

He took a deep breath and shook his shoulders, toning out Xin Fu's commentary while he was at it. He'd done the meditations. Practiced the breathing exercises. Stretched out his tendons. Warmed up his muscles. Yet still his heart pounded, and he found himself tapping his foot restlessly, as a racing ostrich-horse does behind the starting gate.

"_**Tonight, we have a truly special offering, a battle between two of Unbeatable Piandao's top disciples, and two unmatched flowers of the Earth Kingdom."**_

"Don't forget to breathe," Toph mumbled as she stood by him and punched him in the shoulder.

"Hello to you too," Kazuma replied. "Unmatched flower? That guy sure has your number down."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Toph said, spitting on her hands and rubbing them together. "You sure about challenging so soon? From what I hear that raid took a number on you."

"The healers did a good job, and my Spirit World training did a lot for my body," Kazuma said. "Besides, I've never gotten to face Sokka in the ring. I've been looking forward to it since forever." The thought made his heart dance with excitement, and a grin appeared on his face. "Also I heard Yunfei got a challenge, and he's been training day and night for it. If his body can handle it, so can mine."

"Oh, boys and their contests," Toph sighed, rolling her eyes.

"It's more than that," Kazuma replied. "I may not have had the most normal of Fire Nation childhoods, but I learned enough to know that people like Yunfei and a lot of other Fire Nationals, at the end of the day, they only respect power. I'd like that to change, but in the meantime, I need to prove to them I have enough power to be worth listening to."

"And this way, if Yunfei fights first, he doesn't get to go around thinking he's better than you because you had so much longer to recover," Toph replied. "Gotcha. Just making sure you knew what you were doing, fire flake."

"_**Now I know you're not here to listen to me talk, so if you want this fight to get started, put your hands together for this young hero of mysterious humble beginnings who's set his sword against the evils of the world, who fights for the weak and defends the helpless, who brought down the dread bandit Xu Sheng Twospear. I give you Kazuma, Sword of the Blue Flame!"**_

"Put in that name request, did you?" Toph said.

"Darn right I did, flower girl," Kazuma shot back, his face reddening not at the title, but the sheer amount of…hyperbole that Xin Fu had heaped on his accomplishments. It wasn't anything extraordinary he did; he had power and he should use them responsibly. Surely anyone would do the same. "You ready to rock?" He asked Toph.

"Oh, please. I'm always ready."

"_**And his partner, the undefeated Earth Rumble grand champion for four years running, the Queen of Quakes, the Madame of Might, the Blind Bandit, Toph Bei Fong!"**_

"Then let's go."

Kazuma's heart danced again at those words. Yes, he always got the shakes before every fight. But it wasn't from nervousness or anxiety or fear.

It was anticipation.

* * *

"You hear that, Kei? You hear that?" Sokka complained as he pointed across the field. "That's all for them! We haven't even come out yet and the crowd's already roaring!"

"So?" Kei replied curtly, slowly pulling her leg down from where she had it in a bow-and-arrow stretch. "Who cares if the crowd loves them? We're not here to become celebrities."

"Speak for yourself," Sokka grumbled, grunting a little as he adjusted the laces on his armor, an upgraded version of the warrior armor he wore during the Day of Black Sun. He would be fighting the greatest earthbender in the world and a supremely powerful firebender, if even half the things he'd heard from Piandao and Iroh were true, and opted to take a decrease in mobility for increased protection. "I wouldn't mind a little support for all this carnage."

"Oh, carnage my arse," Kei scoffed, walking over to adjust one of his shoulder pads and then stepping away. She offered him a wolf-helm from the arming racks, but he declined with a lazy wave. "Our first battle wasn't even that bad and you didn't spill any blood."

"That doesn't mean a fan club wouldn't help."

"You men and your fan clubs," she sighed, running a last minute check on her combat pack and body holsters. The most recent upgrades to her arsenal cost her more than a couple of cool coppers, and it would suck if she'd forgotten something. Which she never did, but it would suck if it ever happened. "Always showing off for the crowd."

"Says you, miss former dancer," Sokka replied, eyeing the, well, dancing outfit Kei wore to optimize mobility, the same light sleeveless tunic and active pants from her last match, with one pant leg cut off all the way to the hip to maintain hip warmth, and the same bandages and wraps covering various parts of her exposed arms and legs. "Didn't you dance for crowds before?"

"Yes, keyword there being 'before'. I don't do that anymore. Besides, wasn't the saying always to 'dance like nobody's watching?'?"

"Tch. Cheap cliché."

"But they work."

"_**And now, the opposition, Crown Prince Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe, closing disciple of Unbeatable Piandao, and Kei Mallari, the Glaive Dancer!"**_

"Hear that?" Kei asked.

"Hear what?"

"You wanted applause, didn't you?"

"Tch, they're just being courteous."

"So I guess you better pull your weight on this one."

"Don't you try to pin all the blame on me, Kei. Besides, I thought that was a calculated choice on our part, to make everyone drop their guard, and then we can observe how they fight and come up with a plan to counter that?"

"Yeah, it was. I'm still blaming you though. It's my sacred right as a woman, you know."

"Whatever. Ready, Miss 'I'm-So-Cool-I-Don't-Need-A-Fan-Club-Yet-I-Join-In -An-Internationally-Acclaimed-Tournament-Anyways'? "

Kei made a face at him.

"Ha ha. I'm ready. Are you, whiner?"

"Meh. This whole thing was my idea. Fire away, fire away."

"Remember the plan?"

"Of course I remember the plan. I came up with half of it. The real question is, will they just use their bending to not give a crap?"

"Good question."

And with that, the doors to the arena opened, a tumult of sound and light flooded over the nonbender team, and with a shallow breath from both, they strode out onto the field to face their opponents.

* * *

_Stupid pampered lordlings, _Jin thought darkly as she jogged up and down the ampitheatre steps. _Can't be bothered to bring small change, oh no, just have to drop gold to show off how rich they are._ Soon she had reached her destination, one of the various cash repositories scattered all across the building, and picked up the cash along with two bottles of twelve-year Daughter's Red, a pot of jasmine tea and a papaya smoothie with tapioca pearls. The acoustics soon began blaring the national anthems to both teams, and Jin winced at the sound. _Ugh, and all that noise! I'm so going to have the mother of all migraines when all this is over._ Shaking her head, she began making her way back to her customers._ At least the tips are good_.

"Miss? Kiwi milkshake and a watermelon soju please?"

Jin was about to answer when another wave of raucous cheers assaulted Jin's ears. She shook her head to clear it, then glanced towards the arena just to see what the hullabaloo was all about, and nearly dropped her thankfully empty serving tray.

_Kazuma?_

"Miss? Hello?"

She leaned in closer to get a better view. He was cleanly shaven, accentuating his patrician features, and his hair had been lightly oiled before being tied into a tight glistening knot. The healers had taken care of all the cuts and bruises he had sustained from the previous fight, and the silken White Lotus robes were a stark contrast to the casual clothes he wore that one time when they went to the open-air market. But that was unmistakably him, striding confidently towards the center of the arena, sword strapped to his back like some figure from the _wuxia _stories her mother would always tell.

"Miss? Hi?"

"Oh! I'm terribly sorry," Jin stammered, as she was brought back to reality by the part of her brain that nagged at her to pay the rent.

"No problem, miss. Kiwi milkshake and a watermelon soju please. Oh, and add a bag of salt-and-basil fried chicken nuggets too."

"Got it," Jin replied. "That will be two silvers and five coppers."

"Sorry, let's add a mudder's milk to that. Here's four and a half silvers, keep the rest. No worries miss, I had a summer job at a restaurant once, I know how it can be trying to keep up with so many customers. No need to get all red on me."

"Ah, right," Jin replied, accepting the cash while laughing a little nervously. _Am I really red? _she thought as she walked away to place the order.

* * *

It is said that the straightsword is the gentleman of all weapons, a more refined weapon for the armed intelligentsia, in contrast to the broadswords and spears favored by soldiers on the field or the staves and miscellaneous polearms used by poorer folk, and those in the stands observing Kazuma and Sokka could see fully the reason for this title. The two warriors walked - no, strode - towards each other with purpose, heads held high, fire in their eyes, pride filling their chests and confidence at their backs, speaking no words but merely leaving footsteps in the earth behind them as did the wandering heroes-errant of old. Beside them their partners followed, faithfully silent in preparation of the battle to come. The clusters of glowing crystals that dotted the arena lent their light to the occasion, creating an ambience of dignified solemnity as it reflected off the combatants' arms and armor. Even Xin Fu took a break from his usual commentary to take in the scene, such that the only sound was the running river that split the arena down the middle.

"Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe, representing all nonbenders, disciple of Master Piandao," Sokka announced, placing fist to palm as he greeted his opponent.

"Kazuma of the Fire Nation, representing the Order of the White Lotus, disciple of the very same," Kazuma replied, returning the gesture by drawing his sword, kissing the hilt, and sweeping it down in a duelist's salute.

"I guess that makes us martial brothers," Sokka replied, drawing his own blade and holding it at the ready. "Shall we?"

"I guess that does," Kazuma said, adopting a defensive stance. "So come at me, bro."

"Well, glad you two lovebirds got that out of the way," Toph called out. "Eat dirt!"

With a stamp of her feet and a single punch that sent a boulder the size of an ox-cart flying at Kei, the match was on.

* * *

_This was actually somewhat nice,_ Ty Lee thought. The past few days had been rather tiring, what with Yunfei seemingly wanting to train their asses off all day every day, and seemingly every single weapon-wielder - that is, everyone - in Clan Ouyang being more than happy to play opposing force. So it was a happy coincidence that Xin Fu had hurriedly approached them the night prior and informed them that due to a certain request, there was now a last minute rearrangement of the fight schedule, especially since she and Yunfei were bruising from a grueling session with Ouyang Leng and Ouyang Hui the night prior. The break was a welcome relief, and she certainly did not mind spending it to watch her new friend Kei and her old friend Sokka fight in the ring.

Plus, Yunfei had been so focused on training that he wasn't trying to hit on her and make stuff awkward or anything. And so, with a content sigh, she stretched in her seat in the competitors' box, leaned forward to get a closer view, and felt a set of warm fingers attempt to worm their way into her right hand.

"Hey, Yunfei?"

"Yes, _huamaral_?"

"I'm kind of thirsty. Would you mind getting me something to drink?"

"Sure thing."

As Yunfei quickly left, Ty Lee sighed and pulled out a set of lorgnette lenses, making sure to use her right hand to hold them.

_Not awkward...until now._

* * *

_This was totally awesome, _Kazuma thought. Though he and Sokka were both White Lotus, and even learned swordsmanship under the same master, the stars simply did not align sufficiently to enable them to meet until now. Piandao had taught both of them well, and their swords danced back and forth like playing sparrows as they tested and probed each other's defense. For Kazuma, the chance to cross blades with not just a martial brother he never knew, but one of the heroes who ended the Great War, would definitely be one of the highlights of his life. Maybe not as high as the birth of his first child (whenever that may be) or that time Iroh had taken him to the Sun Warriors' Temple, but definitely one of the highlights. Of that, he was certain.

"I would just like to mention," Kazuma said as he ducked a horizontal slash from Sokka, "what an honor it is to meet you for the first time." He followed up with a thrust to the center of mass that the Water Tribe warrior easily sidestepped, then brought up his sword to catch Sokka's follow-up slash in a blade lock. "I've always wanted to touch blades with you, ever since I returned from a training trip and Dad told me about the young Water Tribesman who unexpectedly became one of his finest students."

_Alright, this is actually somewhat manageable,_ Sokka thought. He'd heard much about Kazuma, ever since he was inducted into the White Lotus after the war and became more privy to their plans and dealings. Many of the things they had done in secret in the past or were capable of doing surprised him, and a few of the things they had the capability of doing genuinely scared him. Including, in this instance, hiding some dark horse one-man-army from out of nowhere. This would definitely be a difficult fight, but Sokka was getting his measure, and with a little brainpower and a lot of luck, victory might be not so out of grasp.

"Did he really say that about me?" Sokka replied, meeting Kazuma's blade clash and pushing for leverage. It has been a calculated move; he already knew Kazuma was a little faster than he was, and that firebending was definitely going to be difficult to handle, but any more information was good information. Like the information that on top of those other things, Kazuma was also physically stronger than he was. And was a little taller, and therefore had more reach. But that was okay, because it was still manageable.

"Hey, what do you mean, 'unexpected'?" Sokka called out, an offended tone clearly audible in his voice.

"Oh, no, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that - too many arrogant kung fu guys were showing up, see, and-" _There._ A brief instant of uncertainty, the tiniest of waverings in where Kazuma was pushing, and Sokka immediately seized on that opening. A little nudge to the side, applied at precisely the right spot, sent Kazuma's sword sliding past Sokka as the Water Tribesman leapt in for a pommel strike. It would have made contact too, had Kazuma not kicked out a stream of fire at the last minute to propel himself backwards, just a hair's width out of reach.

"No worries, no offense taken," Sokka called out, raising his sword and circling Kazuma. "You know, Kazuma, I'd heard a lot about you from Master Piandao too."

"Oh? What did he say about me?" Sokka heard Kazuma reply, a hint of interest in his voice.

_Yep. Definitely still manageable, _Sokka thought.

_Dammit, Sokka, why did I let you drag me into this?_ Kei thought. So far, things were going according to plan. It was just that the plan was bloody hard and tiring, especially on her end. Kei's usual method of dealing with benders, as she did in her earlier match against Yunfei, was to close in to melee and attack the centerline, intercepting their attacks before they could complete their bending movements. This she was trying to do here, aerialing past a cart-sized boulder and butterfly-kicking over a clump of crystals, each flip and twist bringing her closer before Toph just simply raised up a wall that was too high to leap over.

And then that wall came hurtling towards her, faster than she thought possible, and slammed into her, knocking her a good several meters back and undoing all the progress she'd made so far.

"Overpowered. Just so very stupidly overpowered," Kei muttered to herself as she picked herself up, coughed out a mouthful of dust, and scrambled out of the way before Toph's follow-up earth wave could push her out of the arena bounds. _Should I use it? No, now is not the time,_ the gypsy woman thought before pike-rolling to the side again as columns of earth shot themselves at her, returning fire with a brace of steel ball bearings as she did so. "Sokka, you owe me for this. You owe me big."

_Muahahaha! Tremble before my wrath!_ Toph thought. She liked this arena. Plenty of earth and rock and crystal for her to sling around. She hadn't gotten to using the metal barricades yet, partly because having an entire shell of high-purity steel around her reduced her earth-sense greatly, and partly because throwing chunks of crystal was fun, especially when they splintered into a bajillion pieces when they impacted Kei's deflecting glaive.

Granted, the way the girl was doing flips and twists in the air so as to minimize her exposure to the ground and by extension Toph's "vision" of what she was doing was pretty annoying, and Toph made a mental note to slap Sokka later for it, as she was pretty sure he was the one who spilled the beans on how seismic-sense worked. But sooner or later, Kei would get tired, and that was when it was time for the Glaive Dancer to know what it meant to go one on one with the Great One.

Then she heard Sokka's voice from behind her arena.

"_He said you've got real talent for the sword, Kazuma. And, you know, I wasn't able to learn all that much from him because schedules, but I always wondered what it would be like to compare swords with someone who'd learned from him all his life. You up for it?"_

"Ignore that, fire flake," Toph shouted, before Kazuma could answer. "He's just trying to bait you into only fighting him on his terms."

"Oh I know," she heard her partner reply. "Don't worry, I'll use my firebending when I need to. I do want to win, you know."

"Good," Toph said. "The Blind Bandit's got a record to uphold." Kei disappeared from her seismic sense again, but the way she moved her arms prior indicated she was throwing something, so Toph stomped up a wall and sure enough, a brace of steel ball bearings clattered against it. "Better step up your game, Glaive Dancer," Toph called up upon sensing Kei land. "No one's ever defeated the Blind Bandit in the ring of honor, except for the Avatar," she added, sending a rockslide towards the gypsy. "And you, miss, are no Avatar."

* * *

_Great success!_ Ouyang Yunfei thought as he walked back to the viewing box, glass of Sake Sunrise, flagon of _kumiss_, and box of deep-fried pork belly cubes in hand. The lines were long and the prices overinflated even with his competitor discount, but his lady was thirsty and by Tengri he was going to fix that. Striding over to the entrance, he nodded to the doormen and entered, only to discover that his seat had been taken. For a brief instant, Yunfei's temper flared, and he was about to put the interloper in his place before realizing that one, it was a woman with a toddler in tow, and two, it was someone he knew.

So instead he walked calmly over, smiled at Ty Lee, and handed her her drink.

"Thanks, Yunfei," she said, and Yunfei smiled back. He was about to say something else when he heard the voice of Yunteng call to him. Yunfei took a last glance at Ty Lee before dutifully bounding over to where his brother stood by the viewing pane, with Ouyang Leng beside him.

"What's up?" Yunfei asked.

"Not much, little bro," Yunteng said warmly. "I just figured that since you have yet to face Kazuma down there, we should probably take advantage of this marvelous occasion to run some combat analytics. You know, see if we can find tells in Kazuma's body language, favored attack patterns, so on and so forth."

"Ah, yes. That would be good," Yunfei said, nodding. He glanced back at Ty Lee, then leaned over the rails to peer down.

"Oi, _a-duu_," he heard Yunteng whisper to him in steppe-dialect. "It's going to take a while. Just give it time. In the meantime, let Dee run interference for you."

Yunfei glanced back again to where the girl of his dreams and the Earth Kingdom woman who was his sister-in-law sat chatting happily, while a tiny two-year-old girl child crawled up and down all over them. He nodded, thanked Yunteng, then turned his attention to the arena.

* * *

_Wow, he's actually really good,_ Kazuma thought as he continued to lay into Sokka with a myriad of techniques. Piandao's travels as a soldier in the Fire Lord's armies and as a deserter on the run had taken him all over the world, exposing him to a wide variety of different swordfighting styles, and all of these he had passed on to his adopted son. The Sword of the Yue Maiden, quick, light, and elegant, supposedly created by a woman warrior who single-handedly stopped an invasion of her village eons ago, passed down across the generations through the Southern Earth Kingdom. The Flying Sand Style, its techniques swift as a coursing river and full of changes, created when Piandao wandered the Si Wong desert in search of inspiration and found it in the mercurial sandstorms of that region. The Three Peaks of the Sacred Mountain, stolid and steady, forceful as the great typhoon, each subsequent attack more powerful than the previous, burying the opponent in a cavalcade of strikes. Bodhidharma Sword, strong as the raging fire, having earned its status as the standard sword form of the Fire Nation military centuries ago. The Reverse Saber and Sword, adapting broadsword technique to the straightsword and vice versa, mysterious and disorienting as the dark side of the moon. All these and more, a thousand styles from a thousand masters, saw use as Kazuma sought to disrupt Sokka's rhythm and catch him in a bind.

But Sokka simply wasn't falling for it. It is known that all techniques have weak points that may be exploited, with the inherent speed, strength, and overall ability of the user meant to compensate for this, such that a master may use an elementary technique to score victory, but a novice will not be served by the most advanced technique. And in addition to his natural cunning, Sokka seemed to have a second sense for the sword, and where those weak points are. An intricate beat that transitioned into a cross cut, interrupted by a sword pointed at his wrist before the move could be completed. A series of evading steps, devised by the Air Nomads of old, defeated by a blade already in position before he could get there. The guy was doing his utmost to manage the flow of battle, and it was actually kind of working.

But that was fine, Kazuma thought, a wave of exultation bubbling up inside him. That just made it a better learning experience. And Kazuma was all about learning.

* * *

"You certainly have a way with your students, Piandao. The White Lotus Society's future is bright indeed."

"Thank you, Grand Lotus Iroh," Piandao replied with a warm smile, returning Iroh's congratulation with a toast of his teacup. He was quite the happy camper so far. Both his students were acquitting themselves well, and a simple trip to the concession stand saw no less than five different swordsmen, each of whom were easily masters in their own right, congratulate him on his tutelage. And more than a few others had thrown themselves at his feet, begging to be accepted as disciples, but a quick interview revealed the same character problems that had resulted in him closing his gates before running into Sokka all those years ago.

"I can see both pups have got some real talent for this business," Leng growled from the seat next to him. Piandao raised an eyebrow at this. He and Leng had never gotten on all that well, even before the butchery at Gaoshan that saw Piandao finally forsake the path of conquest, and so the reserved compliment came as somewhat of a surprise. "But you taught them queer, Piandao," Leng added, cocking his head to the side. "Opposite, seems like."

"Oh? How so?" Piandao replied. _If I'm going to mend the past, might as well start with Leng, _he thought.

"The Lotus pup there, he's swinging more styles than an Upper Ring dandy," Leng replied. "That right now? Heavenly King Lifting Pagoda, from the Skanda Vajrapani style of Smoke Island, if my eye don't deceive me." He paused for a second, taking in Kazuma's newest set of movements. "And now he's switching to Eight Immortals Sword to defend. And that was a dodge from the Eight Trigrams of the Air Temple ruins. And then that was a double slash from our standard cavalry saber repertory, adapted to the straightsword. Now he's going Plum Blossom."

"Good eye," Piandao said, smiling.

"It's only funny when I do it, Piandao," Leng snarled, the jade prosthetic eye somehow seeming to flash in its socket as he turned upon the White Lotus master, who raised his hands in a disarming gesture. "Anyway, your other pup though, the Water Tribesman? Just the same couple of movements, over and over. Stuffing the Lotus pup's attacks every time." He leaned in closer. "I don't suppose you've done it this time?"

Piandao was about to answer, but another voice, bold and clear, full of vitality with an air of nonchalance bordering upon arrogance, cut in.

"Done what?"

Piandao turned his head back, and the sight of the speaker gave him pause. It was a man, flanked by a steppe tribesman and an Earth Kingdom woman, who looked quite familiar, but Piandao could not place from where he might have seen him. Out of soldierly habit, Piandao's gaze instead fell upon the man's arms and armor. He recognized the armor as a Stormlord pattern, easily recognizable by its heavier steel plates and its large rounded shoulder pads in contrast to the standard firebender issue, a masterfully crafted set of interlocking steel, obsidian-black in shine with gold trim and a single blazing Fire Nation insignia in the center of the chest piece. The weapons did not make as much sense, however. Stormlord pattern armor was often reserved for Assault Troopers, who were drawn from those firebenders who could call upon their flames to boost them briefly into the air and had additionally received close-quarters combat training; the idea was that they could jump past whatever obstacles in their way to crash right the middle of an enemy formation and wreak havoc. To this end, they commonly favored shorter, more rugged weapons, such as horse-cleavers, lightning claws, and double hammers. And while the newcomer did indeed carry a beautifully forged flanged mace on his back and a gilded lightning claw slid in safety position on his right wrist, there were also at least half a dozen blades of various make and model dangling on various loops and mounts around his waist.

"Apologies for my tardiness, friends, but I had business matters to attend to. What did I miss?"

And that's when it hit Piandao, from the genteel features, to the neatly trimmed mustache, to the one shoulder pad that bore the insignia of an Assault Trooper company commander, to the other that bore a vivid image of a snarling _yazi_, the sigil of Clan Ouyang.

"Why, if it isn't Ouyang Shijie, the Prince of Blades, whose name is renowned across the martial world! Welcome," Iroh said, grinning as he rose to greet the newcomer, and Piandao followed suit. "It is an honor to meet you indeed. And that is quite an interesting suit of armor you have there. Is it custom?"

"Royal Uncle Iroh, the Dragon of the West; Unbeatable Piandao of Shu Jing. The honor is mine," Shijie replied, smiling a smile that had won many a contract as he returned the salute. "And yes, yes it is. Being heir to the biggest chain of warforges in the Fire Nation does have its perks, you know."

"I apologize," Piandao replied. "I have seen you at the gala, but I did not recognize you out of your dress silks. What kind of business deal, might I ask, that required you to pack so much steel?"

"We are Clan Ouyang, Master Piandao, what else could it be?" Shijie replied, laughing. "Cousin Yunteng over there got General How of the Council of Five to commission one of these Stormlords for the upcoming parade, and I was there to deliver it to him and to show him how to put it on. You were military, Piandao, you know the interlocking plates can get - oh wait, never mind, you don't bend, so you wouldn't have been an Assault Trooper. But you would, though," Shijie said, turning to Iroh. He then leaned in closer to Iroh, expression serious, as if exchanging a secret of utter import. "You know, Royal Uncle, say the word and I could commission you a suit. Just this fashionista's opinion, but armor suits a Fire Nation royal far better than simple cloth robes."

"I appreciate the gesture, Young Lord Ouyang," Iroh replied, smiling, "but simple robes suit this old man far more than heavy mail." He gestured to the steppe tribesman and the Earth Kingdom woman who had entered with Shijie. "I do not believe I am acquainted with your esteemed companions. Might an introduction be in order?"

"Ah, where are my manners?" Shijie replied, shaking his head. "This," he said, motioning to the steppe tribesman, "is Yesugei Stormcaller, shaman to Clan Jaghatai." Yesugei nodded and saluted, appearing as less a man than some kind of massive sentient beast as the sky-wolf pelt draped across his head and back rolled with the movement, and the pair of red steel lightning claws strapped to his wrists clanged as he brought them together. "Apologies for any offense on his behalf," Shijie added. "The shaman does not have many words of the common speech, you see."

"None taken," Iroh replied. "I have long heard of the spiritual wisdom of the steppe shamans. It is an honor to be in the presence of one." Yesugei bowed, then walked purposefully to the viewing box's edge to peer over the railing. Iroh, meanwhile, turned to the Earth Kingdom woman. "And who is this lovely lady?"

"Hawagul bin Kadeer al Urumqi, Ba Sing Se Daily," the woman said. "Royal Uncle Iroh of the Fire Nation, Grand Lotus of the White Lotus Society, the Liberator of Ba Sing Se. If it is not too much trouble, may I borrow a few minutes of your time and record a few words of wisdom?"

"Of course," Iroh said. "I don't know about wisdom, but I certainly have words to spare. In fact, we can do this right now, if you like."

"That would be wonderful, Royal Uncle," Hawagul said. She swept her gaze over the Ouyang. "I think they may want to talk shop for a spell. Why don't we step out over this way?"

"Thank Tengri she's gone," Leng growled, as the two left. "Was a finger twitch away from just unleashing Icefang right here. Why'd you bring her in anyway, coz?"

Shijie swept his gaze across the competitors' box, taking in everyone - Leng and Piandao, Yesugei who had wandered off next to Lin Hayate and Lan-feng, Katara and her students, Fire Lady Mai, Ty Lee who was still chatting with Yunteng's wife and daughter, Qing who was flanked by a set of Water Tribesmen, Yunfei and Yunteng, and Hawagul and Iroh - and smiled. "She was a reporter trying to do her job, and the guards were giving her trouble. Such devotion to duty should not go unrewarded, should it? Now, where were we? Ah, yes - what is it that Unbeatable Piandao have done?"

* * *

_Holy hell, just how many styles did Piandao teach this guy?_ Sokka though, wracking his brain for appropriate defenses to the sheer variety of techniques Kazuma was pulling on him. He knew he knew that his own travels with the Avatar ensured that he would not have the time to learn even a fraction of them. Indeed, Sokka was grateful that he was able to meet Piandao at all, and for what little time and techniques he was able to spend with the man. He'd even managed to learn an entire set of techniques from him, in addition to bits of pieces of other miscellaneous techniques. Granted, the set was only five moves and a list of changes, but Sokka could appreciate the elegant simplicity in those five techniques, since it seemed like no matter what Kazuma did, at least one of them could be relied upon to counter.

_Empty your mind of the stories,_ Piandao had told him. Sokka's arm rang with as Kazuma hammered away at him with a set of strikes from the Skanda Vajrapani Style, the strength of its imperious and domineering power blows doubled when paired with the Eighteen Coils of Mount Taishan, designed such that its power multiplied when the user was on higher ground, whether it be the winding steps to the eponymous mountain or, in Kazuma's case, a crystal cluster near the arena's center. And now the firebender was taking a leaf out of the Thunderbolt Hall's playbook, calling up static bolts on his fingers, aiming to dazzle Sokka's vision as the sparks danced upon his sword blade.

_Remember not the technique, but the intent of the sword._

Sokka didn't even look at the sparks, instead focusing simply upon Kazuma's blade. He blocked the subsequent three attacks, ignoring the jarring sensation in his arms with each hammer blow, and as the next strike came arcing down, Sokka raised his sword upwards to deflect, backstepping diagonally to place additional power into the move. His own sword collided with Kazuma right at the sweet spot, smashing it upwards and increasing by a split-second Kazuma's time to recover.

_The most basic strike, executed at the right place and the right time, and victory is assured_.

Sokka's sword was now in optimum position, held high above his dominant shoulder, and he breathed in, raised his chi, and cleft down with all his strength. "The Cut of Wrath," Piandao had called this one, and it was indeed quite wrathful as it sheared right for Kazuma's shoulder. The firebender's eyes grew wide, and he immediately stopped his counterstroke to instead kick out a jet of flame that propelled him several meters back. Still, such was the speed and force of Sokka's cut that, amidst the crystal fragments being tossed into the air as Sokka's sword shattered it, floated a strip of cloth from the bottom of Kazuma's robe.

"Advantage, you," Kazuma said, raising the hilt of his sword to his lips again in acknowledgment of Sokka's move. Meanwhile, Sokka's eyes narrowed in annoyance. This was at least the third time he'd had an opening stuffed shut purely due to Kazuma's bending. _Well, two can play that game,_ he thought, readying himself for another barrage of sword strikes. _This was still manageable._

* * *

"The Nine Swords of the Recluse," Shijie mused. "Dragon's teeth, Piandao, don't tell me you've done it."

"Then I won't tell you," Piandao said, a light smile on his lips.

"You've got to be shitting me," Leng growled.

"To an extent, yes," Piandao admitted, grinning sheepishly. "I would not presume to harbor delusions about being on the Sword Demon's level."

"Um, sorry, who now?" All three masters turned their heads to the source of the question.

"Miss al Urumqi, welcome," Shijie said, smiling. "Finished with your interview, I see? Well, might as well give you a bit of martial history for your publication."

"That would be much appreciated," Hawagul replied, preparing brush and ink.

"Legend tells of a legendary warrior whose skills were the stuff of legend," Shijie began. Hawagul raised an eyebrow at him. "Alright, I'll be serious and stop quoting opera plays. But he was a legendary warrior, though. No one knew his origins, but soon they knew him by the title the martial world gave him - the Sword Demon, the Recluse Seeking Defeat. By these titles, you see, you may gather the extent of his skills."

"You all have nicknames of your own, as well," Hawagul said, nodding. "Quite impressive too."

"Ha, really?" Shijie replied with a laugh. "Mine is a classic example of why you should not become famous too young. 'The Prince of Blades.' Makes me sound like one of those male strippers I hear they got up in the Upper Ring. Besides, what are they going to call me when I eventually become clanmaster?"

"Speak for yourself, Young Lord," Leng grunted. "I like 'Jade Eyes' just fine."

"Anyways, where was I? Ah, yes. The Recluse. His legacy endures, centuries later. It is said he had reached that apex of mastery, the ability to defeat all technique by use of no technique."

"I had a brother who liked fighting a lot and found a school that supposedly taught that," Hawagul said. "Said they'd bump him up two belts if he signed up for a one-year contract up front. Got his ass kicked first time he tried it out at a bar."

"Tch," Shijie scoffed. "If it were so easy."

"Actually, would you mind explaining to me what that all means?" Hawagul said. "Sorry, I don't fight myself, so this stuff is all oracle bone script to me." She paused for a second, then smiled. "Granted, I actually do know how to read oracle bone script, but you know what I mean."

"Gladly," Shijie replied. "You ever read or listen to a wuxia story?" Hawagul nodded. "So you know how everyone in them, they got these fighting styles and their techniques and stuff? That's actually not too far off the mark. The techniques that are the legacy of every martial family and every established school, those separate the professionals from the amateurs. But all techniques have their weak points. And the more complex they are, the more weak points they will naturally have. Actually, Leng, would you help me out here?"

The First Sword nodded, as he got up and drew Icefang. In slow motion, he executed a standard technique from the Bodhidharma Sword, "Great Sage Points the Way".

"See here, there's a couple ways to counter this one. This one starts with a circular deflection and ends with a thrust. The thrust is linear, so I can just sidestep and kill him. Or I can parry upwards, step in, stab down, and kill him. Or I simply ignore the circle and attack with a straight line, which will reach him before his circular movement finishes because geometry, and kill him. Oh, come on, Leng, it's just a demonstration, no need to look so morose."

"Well excuse me, Young Lord, if I don't seem thrilled at the thought of being killed by you," Leng replied, look thoroughly unimpressed. Shijie laughed, then went back to explaining.

"Oh, come off it. You'll get your chance soon enough. Anyways, where were we? Ah, right, all techniques have weak points that may be exploited. But, the theory goes, if we reduce it to something simple..." Leng took the cue and reverted back to ready position before stabbing forward with blinding speed, such that his sword was at Shijie's throat in an instant. "And now I'm dead, and Leng can go back to being his upbeat and charming self."

"So why doesn't everyone do that? Why bother with all the techniques?" Hawagul asked.

"Because with techniques you can do things like this," Shijie said, and in a blinding motion the lightning claw on his wrist snapped into live position, swooped up, caught Icefang between its talons, and trapped it there. Smoothly, as a leaf in a river current, the Falcon's Talon set Icefang aside, and Shijie's elbow stopped a centimeter away from Leng's nose. "Steppe Eagle Preening Wings." With a nod, the two Ouyang disengaged, and Shijie turned back to Hawagul. "Techniques exist for a reason, my lady. They are shortcuts. You know that a circular motion will dazzle the enemy's senses, so you lead with that before stabbing. You know a lightning claw can trap, so you bait with an opening, catch the enemy's weapon, and follow up. Even if you break it down simply, a thrust from, say, your brother is vastly different from the same thrust from Leng here. 'No Technique' is an ideal, the ultimate expression of these shortcuts. The ability to see all the techniques, break down their components, and react to each piece with the optimal counter as it comes. The Sword Demon is said to have achieved this state of mastery at the young age of thirty, with a set of nine techniques, the Nine Swords of the Recluse, capable of breaking any and all martial arts styles under the sun. You can imagine how much he would have improved since then. It is said that either upon his death, or simply at the moment when he had defeated everyone who could possibly challenge him, depending on which version of the legend, he left all the swords he used in life and transcriptions of all his teachings in a 'Sword Tomb' hidden somewhere in the world, guarded by the giant condor-eagle that was his lifelong companion." Shijie finished, admiration filling his voice. His eyes turned to Piandao. "Learn but a fraction of what the Sword Demon knew would bump the most bumbling novice up to expert status, at least, and that is what we think the esteemed Piandao has done here. But more than a fraction, I think."

"A pale imitation, nothing more," Piandao said, shaking his head. "Merely the culmination of all my heuristics, condensed into a set of movements. It is commonly believed the Nine Swords were created this way as well, though the Sword Demon obviously had more experience in the matter than my old self."

"So why'd you teach that to only one of your pups?" Leng asked.

"A good teacher tailors his lessons to his students," Piandao answered. "Kazuma has natural talent for learning techniques, no matter how complex or intricate. That, coupled with his firebending, means it suits him to learn as many as possible. Sokka, on the other hand, has had very little formal training. He has a fair amount of talent, but his greatest asset is by far his mind. And so it is to his benefit that his mind is not cluttered with techniques, but with a simple set of basic strokes, adaptable to nearly every situation."

Understanding dawned on the faces of those gathered, and they fell in silent epiphany that was soon broken by a thunderous round of applause that drew their attention back to the arena.

* * *

Kazuma was in the zone, cutting, thrusting, and parrying away, half with conscious effort, half with a lifetime of muscle memory. Though Sokka lacked the advantages of speed, strength, reach, and bending, he was a cunning opponent, pulling all kinds of tricks such as kicking dirt up to temporarily blind or compensating for his lack of reach by climbing upon one of the steel barricades to secure high ground. Once, Kazuma had managed to stagger Sokka with a power blow, knocking him into the river. Seeing the Water Tribesman's awkward flailing, Kazuma thought that he could end the fight right then and there and had gone after him. And then Sokka suddenly recovered and nailed Kazuma with a sweep kick that sent him tumbling into the river as well, and as Kazuma climbed out, he realized that this was yet another calculated move - as a Water Tribesman, Sokka was fully used to fighting with wet clothes, but for Kazuma, the discomfort of soaked robes nagged at his concentration, and the extra weight slowed him down by just that tiny bit needed for Sokka to reverse their fortunes. After twenty or so bouts that resulted in more than a few sliced gaps in his robes and clipped hairs off his head, Kazuma finally resorted to simply forcing Sokka back with a massive fireblast, then emanating a burst of flame that steamed the liquid from his clothes before launching into a roaring counterattack.

Yes, Sokka was smart, but there was always a point where pure fighting ability could overcome that. Kazuma knew he was bigger, stronger, faster, and had firebending on his side, and Sokka was slowly but surely being worn down. Victory was within his grasp. All he had to do was keep pushing, keep pushing, and be prepared for whatever Sokka would have up his sleeve next-

"SNEAK FLYING NEEDLE STORM!"

Immediately Kazuma drew back into a defensive stance. He'd learned from the first time he thought he had Sokka on the ropes to always watch for something, and it paid off when no needles found themselves embedded in his skin.

"It helps to not announce your sneak attacks," Kazuma replied jovially, before realizing that there were in fact no needles at all.

"Oh really? Thanks for the pro-tip, bro," Sokka replied cheerfully, lifting his sword at the ready again.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Kazuma spat. A brief font of anger welled up at him, filling him with disdain for such a trick. He quickly quashed the thought, wondering where it had come from. After all, Piandao had always taught him the strongest weapon was not cast from steel or fire, but formed from the human mind. Shrugging, Kazuma renewed his attack.

Kei, meanwhile, was having a much more difficult time. It was what happened when your opponent was not holding back or toying with you, but was instead going all out. Her arms ached from all the times she couldn't dodge Toph's earthbending attacks and had to either deflect (urgh) or block (ugh, terrible) a flying boulder or twenty. The rest of her muscles ached, too, from all the aerials she was pulling, even with the additional power and endurance that the Eagle's Talon tattooed into her right ankle was granting her. From the increased effort that Toph was now putting forth, she could tell that the earthbender was starting to get annoyed at what she was doing. It probably didn't help that right about the time Sokka had lured Kazuma into the river, Toph had shot a barrage of boulders at her, and she had responded by hopping upon the first one, then playing stepping stones in the sky with them until she managed to reach Toph with an aerial axe kick that rocked her cranium. She'd followed up with a buttstroke from her glaive and would have gotten in a couple more hits, too, before Toph earth-skated backwards, stomped down hard upon landing, and unleashed an earth wave that slammed into her gut and would have ringed her out had she not quickly drawn a dagger and stabbed it into the ground, anchoring her for just long enough to recover and backflip over another barrage of earthen discs.

_You mad?_ Kei thought, wiping a trickle of blood from her mouth. At least she'd confirmed that Toph could not "see" earth that was already in the air. She jumped over another rockslide and glanced at Sokka, who was still busy with Kazuma.

_Soon._

And then Toph threw a mountain at her head.

* * *

"The nonbenders are doing quite well, for all their disadvantages," Lin Hayate mused. "Sokka's swordsmanship is not below Kazuma's level, and Miss Mallari is holding her own still."

"They must know they cannot win," Lan-feng whispered condescendingly. "That thing they're doing, keeping the Lotus and the Bandit between them, that's smart, yes. They have visuals on each other and can coordinate with battlesign, while the benders can't. And it prevents them from getting tagged by collateral from Kazuma's fire or Toph's rocks," Lan-feng said, shrugging and then taking a sip of her drink. "And I say it's smart because that's exactly what I would do. Which means that even if they win, it won't prove anything. Any of their tricks a good bender can replicate. They can beat some benders some of the time, but they won't be able to beat all of them all of the time."

"And you would know, sweetling?" Lin teased, nibbling at her ear.

"Do that again and I will burn it off," Lan-feng whispered back, the words at utter odds with her pleasant demeanor as she smiled and pushed him aside, as if she was a demure Earth Kingdom lady from a song of courtly love. "The White Lotus firebender is powerful, Lin. You've got a long ways to go."

"He is not so impressive," Lin scoffed.

"Or maybe you're just not as good as you think you are," Lan-feng replied, shrugging.

"Hmph. I should petition for a rematch," Lin said. "Then there will be no question."

"That could be arranged."

Lin jumped at the voice from behind him, barely passable as common speech, so thick was its guttural and sheer barbarity. He turned around and saw that it was the steppe shaman he had seen Ty Lee pray to, back when Kazuma and Yunfei had gone on their buddy-cop mission. Lin didn't know when the shaman had snuck up behind him. Last time he checked, the man was still watching the match silently on the opposite side of the competitors' box with the other Ouyang. Yesugei, meanwhile, was now staring at him, as if he was the weird one for reacting in such a startled manner.

"Can I help you?" Lin asked, but Yesugei simply continued staring at him. Seconds of awkward silence passed, and then Yesugei growled something that Lin couldn't quite make out.

"Excuse me?"

Yesugei continued staring at him.

"Okay, you're starting to creep me out."

And then Yesugei turned around and left the viewing box.

"Yeah, steppe shamans always creeped me out too," Lan-feng cooed into his ear. "Riding around and baa-ing to themselves like they just don't care. It's really annoying."

"What did he say?" Lin asked, turning to his partner.

"What, do I look like some raw-meat-eating savage to you?"

"No, but I figured-"

"He said something about a queer puppy. And then something about you being a queer puppy also."

"I'm not sure how to feel about that."

"And now you know why they creep me out."

* * *

"GO BOOMERANG!"

Kazuma ducked back at the sound of those words and cursed when no boomerang was coming. He was really getting tired of this, and that smirk on Sokka's face, as if he was some factory manager who'd just hired a mob of scabs to replace his striking workers, was starting to annoy him.

"Hey, Sokka, if you need a breather just tell me," Kazuma called out in between cuts and thrusts. "Just give me a good honest fight, instead of these cheap tricks."

"Hey Kazuma, if you can't keep up, just tell me and I'll go easy on you," Sokka replied, still smirking as he fended off the firebender's latest torrent of strikes. "You're the one with the bending, I just have my space sword." Kazuma grit his teeth in frustration, and launched another flurry that forced Sokka on the defensive, pushing him back. "Well, and my BOOMERANG!"

Kazuma raised his sword to block again, and his eyes narrowed upon seeing it was another feint. Sokka laughed, and Kazuma growled in anger and lit his sword on fire before attacking with renewed vigor. Crackling plumes of flame puffed from his blade as he struck blow after blow.

_He taunts you. Burn him for his disrespect._

Yeah, this was starting to piss him off, and - wait, who said that?

"Sic'em, Boomerang!"

"Dammit, Sokka, I mean it!" Kazuma roared, lighting his sword on fire and rushing forth, rage driving his charge. "Fight serious!"

It was a combination of instinct, muscle memory, and pure luck that Kazuma managed to evade the boomerang coming at his face by a hair's breadth.

Meanwhile, Toph was definitely echoing Kazuma's frustrations. She'd landed a couple of good hits on Kei, but the woman was fast like a freak, and none of her injuries were substantial enough to keep her down. And the way she was staying out of her "visual" range was more than an annoyance. Toph couldn't see things in the air. The best way she had of sensing throwing weapons was to notice that someone was flinging their arm at her really hard and really fast. But Kei was making sure to only throw when she was in the air, and the first time she'd done that had resulted in a trio of flying needles burying themselves inside her shoulder. She'd ripped them out, and then tried to metalbend the throwing weapons out of Kei's bag, but the gypsy woman had sprung for the top-tier stuff, and everything she was packing had too few impurities to be bent.

But that was no problem. She was the greatest earthbender in the world. If earthbending didn't solve her combat-related problems, that just means she wasn't using enough.

"So the Blind Bandit is wondering," Toph taunted, raising up a wall to block the throwing weapons she knew would be coming when Kei disappeared from her senses again. "What your ultimate goal is here. I can tell you that if you're trying to tire us out, you've got another thing coming. Between me and the fire flake over there, there's more than enough steam to push this engine." She sensed Kei land and punched a pillar of earth towards the gypsy woman, grunting in exasperation as the attack was dodged.

And then Sokka's boomerang slammed into the back of her head.

* * *

"Our brother from the Southern Tribe fights intelligently," Nukilik of the Northern Water Tribe mused, nibbling absentmindedly on a handful of salmon eggs as he watched the proceedings. "He does himself and his tribe credit."

"It is admirable, yes," Arrluk agreed. "Though he does not bend, he understands that he was not meant to bend, and trains accordingly. Much like the illustrious Fire Lady sitting with us on this day."

"You wouldn't be making some kind of veiled reference to why Qing should not be waterbending, would you?" Mai interjected, not looking at the Northerners as she continued watching the fight.

"We would not presume to impose our ideals upon a foreign culture," Nukilik replied, popping another bunch of salmon eggs in his mouth as he returned the Fire Lady's not-gaze..

Mai was about to say more, but Qing tugged on her sleeve. The Fire Lady looked at her partner, saw the pleading in her eyes, and angrily swallowed her retort.

* * *

_Okay, maybe this wasn't manageable any more,_ Sokka thought.

Five years ago, if someone was to tell him that there was a secondary circulatory system inside the human body that carried this thing called chi which enabled ordinary humans to perform extraordinary things, such as manipulate the very elements, he would have thought it utter bunk. Oh, he didn't deny that bending was a real thing, just the idea that this invisible chi thing that no one had ever seen was responsible.

Then he'd returned to Piandao's gates after the war's end and was illuminated. And though he would never be able to wreathe his sword in fire or call forth a raging inferno from his hands, he did develop enough to split stone slabs with a knife-hand, to break all but the toughest wooden staves upon his body, and, most usefully, to dissipate the concentrated force of a firebender's attacks with the power of his own sword strikes. But chi, much like muscles, needed constant working out to build strength, and Sokka simply did not have the decades of training that Kazuma had. The brief time it had taken to cast his boomerang, combined with Kazuma deciding to ignore it entirely and still managing to dodge it anyway, had cost him the initiative, and soon he found himself drawing upon more and more of his reserves, while Kazuma's attacks were growing more and more frenzied, each blow stronger and wilder than the last, each block sending a jarring sensation up Sokka's arm.

At least Kazuma was still favoring close combat. Sokka had taken down his fair share of benders of all kinds, but he had to admit it was a lot harder when they were using their bending to play keep-away. Still he was getting tired, while Kazuma seemed still fresh as a fancy restaurant pre-meal towel. The guy was now no longer holding back his firebending, and parts of Sokka's armor had been either burnt or cut to pieces. His warrior's wolf-tail was singed down to a stub. His left shoulder stung from a recent close shave from Kazuma's flaming sword. His boomerang lay across the field, way out of reach, and he looked across the field to Kei.

_Come on, Kei, help me out here,_ Sokka thought, as a combination fireblast and overhand cut from Kazuma knocked him another couple of steps.

* * *

"Agni's Oath, Lotus's got a lot of raw power if nothing else," Yunfei noted as he watched the fight progress. "I guess I'll have to train harder if I want to take him."

"Don't forget his partner, little bro," Yunteng replied. "They're both strong, and my hopeful sister-in-law lacks bending. She's going to have at least as hard a time as Kei is having," Yunteng replied. He stared at the proceedings in the arena and frowned. "Our family's firebending style is ordinarily a counter to the standard firebending," he said, switching to steppe-dialect. "But at your current level, you'll blow out your chi paths trying to absorb all of that." Yunteng lifted a hand to clutch at his heart. "Believe me, it hurts. Oh, how it hurts." He switched back to common speech for the next bit. "But that's fine. We can work breathing and chi exercises to bring up your reserves."

"Interesting assessment, Young Lord Ouyang Yunteng," another voice cut in, this one female and full of maturity. "Sorry, I couldn't help overhearing. Brad here was wondering what your assessment of his chances are, but was too timid to ask."

"Master Katara of the Southern Water Tribe. It is an honor," Yunteng replied, saluting her with palm over fist. "May I comment that you look as stunning and full of martial bearing on this day as the day I first met you?"

"Oh? Well, I'm flattered, but I must apologize, as I don't think I've formally met you before this tournament," Katara replied. "What was the occasion?"

"Day of Black Sun. I was guarding the approach to the Fire Lord's Palace, and you overran our position right when the eclipse hit," Yunteng said. "The firebending went off, and then you water-whipped me into a wall."

"Oh," Katara paused, taken slightly aback. "Sorry about that," she said awkwardly. "I hope there's no hard feelings?"

"It's been four years," Yunteng replied, smiling and giving Yunfei a small kick in the shins before he could open his mouth. "Long past the time to let bygones be bygones." He looked at the students that had gathered around, then turned to Katara and Brad. "The young one has potential and raw strength, I think. He merely needs direction to focus that strength into a single point, a sharp blade to pierce the enemy. And so far, Master Katara, you have been fully capable of providing it." He looked back to the arena. "Yes, Kazuma and Toph are strong, but I can see that your brother and his partner are controlling the flow of battle still. And when you control the flow of battle, half the victory is in your hand already." Yunteng looked back at Brad, winked, and smiled. "For years Ouyang Yunteng has served as sergeant and assistant arms instructor to the 255th Royal Guards. He knows these things. Fight hard, young one, and may the winds of war blow in your favor"

"Hear that, Brad? Just need to train harder," Katara replied, laughing. "Well, I should be going. Thank you for your input, and good luck on your brother's upcoming match."

"On behalf of the Fire Nation, and in defense of the honor of Clan Ouyang, allow me to wish you well in your upcoming batch against Lin and Lan-feng," Yunteng replied. The two masters exchanged salutes, and then Katara departed.

"Big brother..." Yunteng said in steppe-dialect. "Why didn't you let me say anything when Katara was here?"

"Seriously?" Yunteng sighed and shook his head. "Little bro, the world you grew up in is vastly different from the world as it is now. It's unfortunate, perhaps, that everything we've ever been taught has been turned upside down, but you only ever get anywhere by looking to the future instead of holding on to past grudges." Yunfei was silent at this, and Yunteng sighed. "I don't expect you to understand right away. Just give it time, little bro." For a while, the two of them watched the fight unfold silently.

"So, if I can't count on firebending, what about the sword?"

"Knew you would ask that," Yunteng said. "Your Raging Wind swordplay is optimized for speed, but Kazuma is just as fast as you, so there will be no advantage there. As for strength, the broadsword is ordinarily superior to the straightsword, but Kazuma's blade is forged of sky-iron, so you will find no advantage there. And in terms of techniques, while it is true that our clan has amassed a large pool of techniques and styles over the generations, so has Master Piandao and the rest of the White Lotus. And with the exception of a few First Blades and Cousin Shijie, no one within our generation or above it has mastered more than five of our ancestral styles, while Kazuma..."

"Seems to be a walking repository of sword manuals?"

"Pretty much, yes."

"So...more chi, train harder?"

"More chi, train harder."

* * *

"You thought you would defeat the Blind Bandit with your little tricks," Toph shouted, stomping into the ground, raising up a stone column, and then began firing off chunks of it at Kei with a few well-placed punches, not caring which one would hit her, just that at least some of them would. "But it takes more than that to take down an Earth Rumble title holder!" A brace of kunai impaled themselves on a wall Toph raised, and she punched that one at Kei too. Or rather, at her general location, since the gypsy woman had aerialed out of her sense range again. "You've sown the thunder, Glaive Dancer, now reap the whirlwind, because the Blind Bandit is going to rock you -" She knelt down, slapped the ground, and lifted two platforms big enough for a badgermole to nap on. "Like a hurricane."

_This might not have been the best idea,_ Kei thought as the two platforms came thundering her way.

The plan worked. Boy howdy did it work. And that was part of the problem. Kazuma was now cutting loose, fully integrating his bending with his swordwork, and Toph was doing the same. Sokka's boomerang dazed her for a spell, and Kei had gone in again, but the Blind Bandit was not down and had nailed Kei with an earth block that knocked her back again, followed by a hail of rocks too small for Kei to repeat her earlier stepping stones trick. They fell all around her, as if it were the end to some adventurers' tale that the storyteller has grown tired of. Fatigue was setting in, and Kei knew she'd be rocking some bruises at the very least after this was over.

But there was a silver lining. Driving Toph to anger meant she would not think as clearly. And Kei still had a couple mahjong tiles to play. She just needed a couple more bouts.

One look at Sokka told her she should hurry that process along.

Another look back at the stone columns rushing at her told her she should concentrate on the matter at hand.

_Alright, Sokka. hold the line just a little longer. I'll get to you._

_Eventually._

* * *

"Kazuma is quite the powerful bender," Nukilik commented. He had finished his salmon eggs and was now moving on to a set of seal skewers. "Congratulations, Grand Lotus Iroh," he said respectfully to the Grand Lotus, who had come over to meet the newly arrived Northern Water Tribesmen. "With disciples such as he and Sokka, the future of the White Lotus Society surely is as the eternal tides, each rising wave followed by an ever higher wave behind it."

"Thank you for your kind words, Nukilik," Iroh replied, bowing. "Your team is doing quite well for itself as well."

"Yes, we are," Mai added, cutting into the conversation. "Qing is a bright girl with high potential. She simply needs some direction."

"Agreed," Nukilik interjected, heading Mai off before she could say more. "Grand Lotus Iroh, I ask of you to support me in a matter vital to the honor and sovereignty of the Northern Water Tribe and the Fire Nation."

"Oh? And what is this matter?" Iroh asked.

"We are grateful to the Fire Lady for spiriting our disciple away and tutoring her," Nukilik said. "But, in the interest of preparing the Northern Water Tribe's competitors for their eventual match against the White Lotus's elite warriors, we request the Grand Lotus's support in our request to formally take custody of Qing. We will oversee her training from now on."

"Like you oversaw her training from before I arrived?" Mai growled, slamming her palm against its armrest, her eyes narrowing in anger even as Qing's eyes widened in shock. Iroh looked at the two, confused at the animosity between them. He knew his daughter-in-law had gone on the diplomatic mission after Zhaoka, but having delegated much of his royal duties to Zuko so as to make time for managing the White Lotus, he was not as in the loop as normal. "You have a lot of nerve to ask this of me."

"With all due respect, Fire Lady, it is only right and proper in the martial world for one to seek permission from their teacher before studying under another's gates. And while you did indeed tutor her for a temporary period, she is still of the North, under Master Pakku. Surely the Fire Nation would not seek to steal disciples from the Northern Water Tribe, especially not at this momentous occasion celebrating the end of the war."

A lifetime of holding her emotions in check threatened to overwhelm her, and Mai had to dig her nails into her palms to prevent her from blowing up at the Northerners. She looked around and saw that Katara had picked up on the conversation and was aiming to throw in her own two coppers. Some of the other White Lotus were beginning to notice as well. _You're lucky Iroh is here, _Mai thought darkly.

"You're walking on thin ice, Nukilik. I saved her from your ilk. Why would I deliver her back?"

Nukilik shrugged. "Ahh, brother Arrluk, welcome back," he called out, ignoring her.

Mai turned around to find another Northern Waterbender, flanked by an Earth Kingdom woman.

"Hawagul bin Kadeer al Urumqi, Ba Sing Se Daily." The reporter looked up from her notepad. "Fire Lady Mai, good to see you again."

All the rage held up inside Mai dissipated into emptiness, as she realized she had been entrapped. Surrounded by White Lotus, as well as a head writer for one of the most widely read if not the most unbiased publications in Ba Sing Se. She did not know how long they had been standing there, but from the smug expression on Nukilik's face, it had been a while. Long enough to write a publication on Fire Nation's obstinate refusal to grant the Northern Water Tribe their disciple back.

"Well played, Nukilik," she seethed. "Don't think this is over."

* * *

Toph was pissed.

She'd been mad before. Mad at Aang when he'd knocked her out of the Earth Rumble ring back when they first met. Mad at Katara from when she first joined the Avatar and his crew. Mad at her parents when they didn't let her out to do anything ever. Mad at whatever son of a turtleduck tried to murder Zuko's wife and undo the peace.

Toph wasn't mad now, she was pissed. Because Kei was still in the game, because Kei had somehow caught her second wind and was dodging all the earthbending being thrown at her, because subsequently that meant a return to not being to see her, but simply knowing that she was there somewhere and was probably going to launch another barrage of throwing weapons at her that would impact ineffectively on an earthen barrier and then dodge whatever earthbending Toph threw back her way, starting the cycle anew.

Mostly, though, Toph was pissed, because during the last iteration of the cycle, instead of the familiar small vibrations of a set of kunai or ball bearings or shuriken or iron coins or whatever else clattering against her rock barrier, this time there was a deafening roar, followed by a sharp piercing pain in her shoulder as something hard and searing hot passed through it. The sheer unfamiliarity of the sensation, as well as the actual pain, caused her to yelp as she dropped to a knee. Vaguely she sensed Kei land before disappearing again, and the next thing she felt was something sharp, like a thorn or a needle, entering a point in the back of her neck.

"_**The Dragontusk Darts from Ouyang Ironworks! That was the armor-piercing variant, you can see how its penetrator burst through that rock barrier and..."**_

Toph didn't hear whatever else Xin Fu had to say. _This was such a load of crap,_ she thought, as everything went black.

* * *

Yunteng became distinctly aware of a series of slow claps to his left.

"Good bit of marketing, Yunteng," Shijie mused. He had paid his leave to Iroh and the White Lotus, and had now joined Yunfei and Yunteng, who was more than happy to have the clan heir's attention. "Hmm. Interesting move Kazuma just pulled. But you can handle it, eh Yunfei?"

"Of course, Young Lord," Yunfei said. "As soon as the day ends, I will put double the effort. I will upon my sword to obtain victory with all my power.."

"Good. Confidence, I like that. Heh, too bad Sukh is no longer with us, or we could have you pledge upon his bow and axe as well," Shijie said, laughing. "Oh, one more thing - Leng says that Piandao took his eye, so you better kick Kazuma's ass up and down the arena. You'll do that for our dear First Sword, won't you?"

"I will!"

"Good lad." Shijie turned back to Yunteng. "Where was I? Ah, right. Good marketing. How's that going?"

"Thank you, Cousin Shijie," Yunteng replied. "It's working relatively well so far. People want to wield the weapons of their icons, after all. Kei and Sokka have given me permission to reproduce their weapons for sale, and I plan to ask the same of the other competitors."

"Excellent. What were the numbers, on this deal, if you don't mind?"

"Not at all. I sold Kei a full box of twenty at a 75% discount on our marginal, so we're still making a small amount of profit from them, but I expect sales to surge after this. In fact, given how the armor-piercing variant is working so far, I suspect the Council of Five and the City Watch will be contacting us shortly. They are having trouble with the Night Lords, from what I hear."

"Excellent work, Yunteng. Good man," Shijie replied, raising his glass and clinking it with Yunteng's. "Good work." He downed his glass, and exhaled in satisfaction. "I knew I made the right choice in appointing you to run the Ba Sing Se branch."

"Did you do that?" Yunteng asked, raising an eyebrow. He was rather surprised, as he and Shijie had rarely crossed paths, and he saw no reason why the clan heir would favor him so.

"Ah, the game is up, is it? Yes, Yunteng, I did." Shijie sighed. "Your glories in battle were cut short after Black Sun, Cousin Yunteng. But you were a rising star in our clan before that day, and even though you will never participate in the Clan Trials, I see no reason why you cannot serve us in other ways. Especially if even half the things those who have worked with you have said about you were true." He reached for a bottle of _kumiss_, and filled his and Yunteng's cups. "And indeed, I must say that despite the...difficulties the peace has caused our clan, your performance here has truly exceeds expectations. Bottoms up!"

Gratitude and familial camaraderie filled Yunteng's heart as he drained his cup in one go.

* * *

Kazuma didn't know what it was, but everything had been suddenly feeling a lot more vivid lately. He could smell the dust he and Sokka were kicking up as they maneuvered around the arena, and with each _kiai _he could taste it too. He could feel the wind passing across every pore on his skin, and he could hear the din of steel on steel, as pleasantly musical to his ears as the show tunes to _Theater Ghost_ or _Love Amongst the Dragons_. Yes, this was what battle was all about. No more little tricks or gimmicks, just the pure heightened rush of combat. He hacked and bashed at Sokka's defenses, battering the Water Tribesman back with each strike. Sokka was getting tired, he could feel it. And he was running out of tricks. The handful of throwing knives on his belt had been battered away, one by one. He tried a set of bolas, but Kazuma had cut the thread holding the weapon together with a single slice.

_Ah, to walk upon the battleground..._

"Yield?" Kazuma asked after every several strokes. High-low, high-low, pushing ever onward. "Yield?" Sokka's footwork became more and more erratic, until finally he tripped and fell, landing on his back. He raised his sword in defense, but a power blow struck it from his hands, where it landed meters away. "Yield?" In desperation, Sokka reached for his one remaining sidearm, a weighted whale-bone club, but no sooner had he raised it did Kazuma's next sword stroke smash it into pieces. "Yield?" Kazuma yelled, raising his sword up in the air.

_тєхєєрєх_

Suddenly, Kazuma felt his arm twitch, as if he suddenly got the urge to cleave downwards, even though it would have almost certainly been a death stroke, and Sokka's eyes widened at the implication. Kazuma, meanwhile, was confused. _Why did I do that?_

And then a boomerang slammed into the back of his head, knocking him nearly off balance, as Kei's glaive landed beside them.

* * *

"Well, that seems to have only made him mad," Leng mused, laughing. He took a swig of his _kumiss_, then leaned forward to pick a couple of salted fried peanuts from the plate in front of him. "Have to admit, I'm a little impressed, Piandao. Didn't realize you'd teach them to be so fierce. Sure as hell didn't see that much spunk back when he was fighting Sheng."

"Glad you approve, Leng," Piandao replied, calming the slight quaver he felt in his heart as Leng mentioned their mutual ex-comrade. The White Lotus swordmaster stared at the arena in concern. He knew Kazuma to be an aggressive fighter, yes, but never had he fought like this before. Across from the competitors' box, he caught Iroh's eye. The Grand Lotus mirrored his concerned expression, then pardoned the Earth Kingdom noble he was speaking with and moved towards them. "Grand Lotus Iroh, is this the-"

"Yes and no," Iroh said, shaking his head. "I taught Kazuma how to call upon his spirit state during the last training trip I have had with him, yes, and that is what is happening now. But it is not happening as it should, and I need to find out why. If you will excuse me-" Iroh bowed, then strode out of the viewing box.

"Spirit state?" Leng growled lazily. Piandao paused to consider. On one hand, Clan Ouyang had always been as loyalist as they went, and Leng was, after all, a former battle-brother. And Xu Sheng's death had made him realize there were few enough of them remaining already. On the other hand, he had too many reservations about Leng, especially after Gaoshan. _It was not the screams. No, it was the pleading. Always pleading. Always cut short._

"As you know, Iroh has always been spiritually adept," Piandao explained. "And we've noticed the same about Kazuma. He occasionally took Kazuma to train with him, alone. Iroh said something about it allowing him to unlock his full potential, have access to all his pure fighting instincts and raw, unadulterated energy, without neither the doubts of a young mind nor the human aversion to pain to hold him back."

"Sounds deep."

"I myself am not too sure of how it works either," Piandao said. "Only that it apparently does," he added, gesturing towards the arena. Leng nodded at this explanation, then went back to drinking.

_I still don't know you, Leng, _Piandao thought, seeing the First Sword stare intently at the match. _Kazuma, don't push yourself too far._

* * *

_тєхєєрєх_

Kazuma roared with rage, a blazing jet of fire pouring forth from his mouth as he turned from one opponent to the next. His sword was glowing white now, blinding flames and azure sparks dancing all along its blade, as he met Kei and Sokka's attacks head-on. A red haze seemed to fall over his vision as he fought with ever-increasing vigor. Due to the recent turn of events, Kei now wielded Sokka's sword, and Sokka her glaive, adding a whole new and intensely pleasurable sensation to this battle.

Kei wasn't as skilled with the sword as Sokka, but her agility put a new spin on things, requiring him to react quickly to every changing move she made. Sokka, meanwhile, was now relying on age-tested techniques learned as a youth, and his attacks, while simplistic, had a raw power to them. As the gypsy woman launched a set of probing slashes, Kazuma laughed and returned the favor, cut for cut, stroke for stroke, with some fireblasts thrown in for good measure. He'd staggered her with a power hit and was going in for a finisher when a cold wind at his back forced his attention away, and he turned just in time to avoid the glaive thrust that came at him, quick as a whaler's harpoon, drawing a jagged line across the upper body of his robe, just barely missing skin.

_That was close,_ he thought.

_Weak-minded coward. Do not be concerned about winning and losing._

Okay, seriously, who said that? Kazuma shook his head, trying to clear out the voices. It had started as just a few nagging thoughts here and there, but now it was starting to get louder. It couldn't be Toph, because she was out cold and the only way someone could mistake it for Toph's actual voice was if all they knew of her came from the Ember Island Players' _The Boy In The Iceberg._ And it, too, was getting annoying, actively distracting him from the tight control he was trying to maintain on his spirit state.

A flash of dark steel out of the corner of his eye, and Kazuma was already moving to dodge, but it cost him, as Kei, wielding Sokka's sword, drew a jagged red line across his right shoulder. It was only a shallow cut, barely penetrating the top layer of skin, but because of that, it cut away many of the tiny blood vessels. Kazuma cursed himself from making such a rudimentary error - every neophyte knew not to take your attention away from your enemy. The healers would take care of it, but right now, it stung like a bitch, and the blood would soon reach his hand and make his grip all slippery and-

_Get ahold of yourself. You are a warrior, are you not? Focus!_

With a rousing _kiai_, Kazuma called upon his spirit state and launched himself at the two nonbenders again.

* * *

Jin was worried. She'd been trying to get glimpses of what was going on in the arena in between drink orders, and what she saw was startling to say the least. The ferocity Kazuma was displaying in the arena was at total odds with the kind-of-awkward-but-in-a-sweet-way boy she'd gone out for bubble tea with just the day prior, and she wondered briefly whether those two were indeed the same person.

"Miss? You gave us too much change back. We gave you three silvers, and you mixed in a gold with the coppers."

Jin felt her face flush as she stammered out an apology, thanking her customers, a trio of Fire Nation teenage girls, for bringing it up.

"Not a problem. If it was me, I'd stare at him too," one of them said, smiling. Jin felt herself get even redder as they began describing in great detail his chiseled abs, and tender cheeks, and tall strapping frame, and excused herself.

She did not hear them discuss how his warrior's wolf-tail simply exuded "fun and perky."

* * *

_Koh's cloaca on a cracker, Kazuma, what the hell did you have for breakfast this morning?_

Sokka was getting tired. His arms were heavy, and he lungs were about to burst. The techniques Piandao had taught him were useful, simple, and direct, yes, but knowing where to stick your sword was no good if the situation had changed by the time you were able to get it up there. He looked over at Kei, saw that she was similarly pressed, and scowled in exasperation. It all seemed so promising earlier, how they were controlling the initiative, and even managed to knock Toph out of the game. The plan should have worked. It literally should have worked. He and Kei were supposed to have been carefully managing this fight, and they would have won it, if it wasn't for the darn fates letting Kazuma call upon some hidden reserve of energy like this was a scene straight out of a bad young men's comic serial.

Sometimes, he seriously thought that the universe really was out to get him.

Kazuma was using the Three Peaks of the Sacred Mountain again, and Sokka tiredly raised his newly acquired glaive up to block. He grit his teeth as he blocked the first two strokes, but the third, an already powerful technique supplemented by firebending, proved too much as it knocked the polearm straight out of his hands. But Kei jumped in before Kazuma could finish him off, drawing his attention with a series of sword strokes while Sokka scrambled over first to his dropped glaive, then to his dropped boomerang.

Clearly their original plan of simply tiring Kazuma out with numbers won't work, and they would need to set something up yet again.

_Let's see if the same trick works three times,_ Sokka thought, gripping tightly onto his boomerang.

* * *

Something was wrong.

Kei could feel it, a tingling sensation creeping up her tailbone, like some unholy combination of having a handful of snow stuffed down your back and getting a paper cut in your gums. As she fought on, a curse at her luck with each sword stroke, the tingling sensation became stronger and stronger, growing from a simple nagging to a sense of unease to an overbearing presence that was almost like dread.

She ducked under a fiery slash and kicked out at his legs, and when Kazuma jumped over the blow and retaliated with a downward strike, Kei dove to the side and kicked up a cloud of dust at his eyes. But Kazuma was still too quick, and he managed to raise a hand to ward off the dust. As Kei caught her breath, and Kazuma recovered from the trick, the two locked eyes, and Kei stifled a chill at the rage burning in Kazuma's expression.

And that's when she noticed his eyes had managed to change from their normal gold to a dark crimson, like basting char-siu or the dying embers of a bonfire.

Suddenly everything made sense.

"So you're one of those," she hissed under her breath, bringing her sword at the ready. "And someone's taught you how to tap into your gift." This changed everything.

Then he breathed a mouthful of flame at her, and though Kei raised her chi and twirled her sword about her in a reverse figure eight to ward off the flames, their sheer intensity slapped her arms and face with searing heat. She hissed in pain while mentally running through a set of meditative enumerations to suppress the sting of singed skin along her hands. More worryingly, so intense were Kazuma's flames that wraps covering up the various tattoos and marks on her wrists were shriveling up and turned to cinders, even though she had specifically ordered a set made of the densest wool and silk she could find. _Firebenders, why was it always firebenders?_

"You know what? Fine. You want a spirit fight? Fine," Kei growled. "Come on, then. Show me what being touched by the spirit world does for a firebender, and I'll show you what it did for me."

Thankfully, the bandages over the small of her back had escaped the flames, for they hid a glow as brilliant as the fires coming at her.

* * *

A private toilet was not the most ordinary place for a spirit world journey, but it would do in a situation like this, Iroh thought as he sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and let go. The familiar sensation of lightning building up inside his body occurred, alternating currents of blazing heat and chilling cold, surging higher and higher until it became oppressive in its intensity, and then suddenly, as if a mountain had been placed on his shoulders and then suddenly lifted, there was only void.

Iroh looked down to where his body still meditated, a pair of White Lotus elites standing vigil next to him in case anyone tried to get any ideas. Had this been his first time, he would have marveled at how his hands glowed an etheral blue. Instead, he immediately made a beeline for the arena, and what he saw and heard alarmed him.

_Yes, yes. This was the way. Forget about pride and pain._

There was an oppressive air here, such that Iroh found it difficult to breathe, even in this spiritual form where he had no lungs. He looked at Kazuma, and his brows knitted in concern. Kazuma was fighting like a demon unchained. Not in the sense that his movements were wild and no longer reflective of the refined and controlled warrior that Iroh and the White Lotus trained him to be, but that he was too much so. There was no way that he should have been able to keep fighting at this level, not if he was maintaining the use of his spirit state at a safe level. Which, judging from how Kazuma's spiritual signature was being utterly eclipsed by the crimson giant that stood behind him, that ship had steamed long ago.

_Let your opponent graze your skin and you smash into his flesh._

Iroh grimaced at the voice as he watched Kazuma knock Sokka to the edge of the arena with a fireblast. Kei darted in and sliced at him, but instead of dodging, Kazuma opted to simply shift his stance and go in, such that he was willingly taking a glancing cut along the left side of his ribs in exchange for bashing into Kei's face with a pommel strike. By this point, the gypsy woman was too tired to attempt any of the flying dodges she had employed earlier, and the blow knocked her to the ground. He moved in for the kill, when suddenly a boomerang came sailing towards him from across the arena and smack into his temple.

Iroh grimaced again, a little out of concern for his disciple, but mostly because of the strangeness of the spiritual landscape around him. The faint hues of mossy green and brilliant red overlaying the normal sights, that was normal, for that traced the various bendings that Kazuma and Toph had used in their fight. The neutral white likewise, for that was coming from Sokka, and the kaleidoscope of colors tracing from Kei's limbs likewise, although interestingly Kei herself had suddenly became an utterly colorless void, much to Iroh's and Kazuma's confusion. That which concerned Iroh was the many sky-blue scratches in the ground, as if they were the footmarks of some great beast pawing at the earth. He had seen something similar to this previously, and it meant nothing good. Within the context of this situation, it seemed as if someone had somehow gleaned the truth about Kazuma, and was doing their best to push him along the scarlet path.

This must not stand.

_Let him smash into your flesh and you fracture his bones._

The impact of Sokka's boomerang made Kazuma drop his sword, and he roared in rage again. Placing his hands behind him, as if he were a child in the schoolyard, pretending he was a bird, he surrounded his body with fire and shot forth at Sokka, who was charging at him in an attempt to relieve his teammate. In the blink of an eye he had reached the Water Tribe warrior, and just as quickly he came to a complete stop.

The fire surrounding his body did not, however, and they caught Sokka full in the chest, sending him tumbling back. Iroh turned away, attempting to discover the source of the spiritual tampering. Judging from the pawprints, he had an inkling who it might be, but at present there was no proof, and the search was harder than expected. Though most benders had a spiritual signature that flared up with their strength, and doubly so for those with spiritual backgrounds such as himself, there were simply too many people in the crowds for Iroh to be able to filter through them all. And the voice was seriously distracting, grating into his mind like grits in a steam engine's gears, but he would pull through it. He must pull through it, if he was to find the corrupting taint eating at Kazuma.

_Let him fracture your bones and you take his life._

The words drew Iroh's attention back, and his eyes widened. No, he could not allow this to happen. No more searching. He needed to bring Kazuma out of his berserk frenzy immediately, and he shot for Kazuma, even as Kei had dashed in, sword held in front of her in a blindingly quick thrust. Kazuma, meanwhile, seemed to have felt this, and he turned around, fingers held at the ready, as if he were planning to counter with a set of chi-blocking strikes.

Iroh knew what it really was.

_Do not be concerned with escaping safely, lay your life before him!_

"No!" Iroh shouted, propelling his ethereal form towards Kazuma with as much speed as he could muster, cursing the fact that he could not call upon his firebending to propel himself forward in this state. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. His hands glowed with power as he rushed forward, closer and closer. Just a few more steps and he could reach Kazuma, temporarily sever his connection to his spirit state, and bring him back.

_Yes, you walk the scarlet path, boy. Now run._

Suddenly, there was a piercing pain in Iroh's thigh, followed by a sharp tug that arrested his progress. The Grand Lotus looked back, and his eyes narrowed upon seeing a monstrous wolf, easily the size of a komodo rhino, its aura shimmering teal-green, its eyes blazing red, and its teeth locked onto his leg.

"Traitor," Iroh snarled, his voice low and dripping with killing intent. For an instant, the Dragon of the West returned. He raised his fist and bellowed in rage, an emotion he had not allowed himself to feel in a long time, and spiritual energy began crackling along his knuckles before he brought it down upon the thing's head. There was a shrill yelp that quickly turned into a mournful howl as the energies Iroh wielded collided with the wolf's skull, starting a series of sparks that danced all over it, singing fur, cracking teeth, charring bone, and bursting eyes before the beast finally disappeared into nothingness, but not before one final command had been given.

_**тєхєєрєх**_

Iroh cursed again. The spirit wolf's owner would be marred and thus readily identifiable by the attack, he knew it, but it had accomplished its goal. For all his power and skills, acquired from a very long and illustrious career, Iroh, Royal Uncle to the Fire Nation, Grand Lotus of the White Lotus Society, the Dragon of the West, and the Liberator of Ba Sing Se, could only watch as Kazuma's lightning blast struck Kei in the heart at point-blank range.

* * *

_**Codex**_

_Spirit World_

_Subsection: Bending_

_Of all those who have journeyed to the spirit world and have been surveyed about their experienced, it has been the unanimous observation that they were unable to bend while in the spirit world. Not even the Avatar is immune to this effect. There are two schools of thoughts on this._

_One holds that bending is an action requiring a certain threshold of spirituality to achieve, and that the thresholds are simply determined by a different set of standards in the spirit world. This explains why, despite the presence of spiritual entities that desire harm to humans, there have been cases of nonbender spiritualists who are able to defend themselves with what they describe as something similar to the more primal forms of bending. It does not, however, explain why some of the powers these spiritualists claim to have manifested have never been duplicated in the material world._

_The other holds that bending is merely the channeling of energies from the spirit world to effect the real world. Because bending is merely the effect, and because there is no physical water, earth, fire, or air in the spirit world, naturally standard bending would not affect any of the elements there. As a corollary, this theory holds that one may bend the pure spiritual energy inside themselves when in the spiritual plane, and that any similarities with bending is simply due to the wielder manifesting this new bending in a form they are most comfortable and familiar with. This agrees with the previous theory in terms of explaining the manifestation of new bending powers in the spirit world, but it does not explain why naturally bending creatures such as dragons, sky bison, or badgermoles may also bend in the spirit world._

_~The Complete Works of the Hundred Sciences, 52__nd__ edition, Ba Sing Se University Press_


End file.
